Positively Sure & other drabbles
by libowie
Summary: First love is beautiful, first love is painful, and in the beginning you never expect the end.
1. Kataang: Positivley Sure

**_Note:_ **_Hey everyone! This poem just hit me outta no where and it refused to let me sleep until I finished it. I'm real happy with the way it came out. I usually write things from Aang's point of view, so I wanted to try Katara for a change_

_This is a poem about Katara's feelings toward Aang. She figures out that she loves him, but it aware he is still young, and may not know what love is. It is basically her saying that she loves him so much she is willing to wait for him._

**Positively sure**

I've always loved you like a brother,

And often acted like a mother,

But now I think I'm feeling something more

Whenever our hands brush,

I feel a certain rush,

Unlike anything I've ever felt before

If I find I get this feeling,

I can try to use my healing,

But it seems love sickness is one thing just can't cure

I'm afraid if I confess,

You might start to like me less,

And I'll be forced to watch you walking out that door

While love consumes me like a flame,

I can only hope you feel the same,

Grit my teeth- bow my head and just endure

Because this feeling is so strong,

I know I loved you all along,

But I can wait until _you're _positively sure

_**Note:** Thanks for reading! Please comment me and let me know what you think. I know that it was kind of short, but I was running out of rhymes. Sometimes these poems just hit me out of the blue, so I'm sure more will come to me. Please review and tell me if you think I should post more Kataang poems and drabbles on here. Bye- bye!_

_P.S. Don't forget to read some of my other stories! _


	2. Roku: Before it Burned

_**Note:** Weee! Another poem! This time is about Roku, and his thoughts on the war. He must feel pretty bad that his favorite element, fire, is causing so much damage!_

_**Disclaimer**: The Avatar does not belong to me! sniffle_

**Before it Burned**

How could his element cause so much pain?

Leaving so many injured, the majority slain.

Was it really true how this whole war began?

A worthless fight over power and land.

The spirits were angry, of this he was sure

He had never seen them act this way before.

He himself was quite nervous, Roku knew all the stakes

The Avatar was a child for goodness sakes!

He couldn't help but feel guilty, though he wasn't to blame

No matter what he had done it would've turned out the same.

But these were his people, and this was his flame

Roku felt they were tarnishing his element's name!

So he took the other's whispers, their looks that could kill

And tried his best to stay calm, silent, and still.

But there comes a time when one can't take the abuse

They have to vent, they have let loose.

So Roku lit a flame, and took his stance

Relaxed as he watched the fire dance.

For his fire was peaceful, his fire was good

It didn't burn for more power like his peoples' would.

He didn't take advantage, didn't use it to kill

Roku simply improved his bending skill.

And so it seemed his nation would never learn

That fire was best _before_ it burned.

_**Note:** Thanks for reading! Please comment and tell me what you think! Also, if you don't mind, I would adore you if you gave me an idea for my next poem or oneshot for this fic!_

_Please send requests!_

_Tah-tah for now! And remember, I can't update until you give me a request!_


	3. Kataang: Helpful

"Can you believe them?"

Aang glanced up from his comfortable spot on Appa to see Katara shaking her head at the retreating figures of Sokka and Toph. Coking his head to the side Aang looked up at the water bender in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

A look of disbelief took hold of Katara's features as she looked between Aang and the direction their two other friends were headed.

"You mean you don't see it?!"

Aang was becoming very annoyed at his ignorance on this subject, but his curiosity was growing all the while.

"Katara, what on earth are you talking about?"

The young girl took one last look at her friends disappearing into the forest, before motioning for Aang to come closer.

Now Aang's curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he was eager to figure out what was so unbelievable about Sokka and Toph going to get more firewood. He quickly air bended himself off of Appa and walked over to where Katara had seated herself by the fire.

Once the monk was comfortably seated next to her, and she was sure her friends were out of hearing range she turned to Aang, a serious look crossing her face.

"Okay, promise you won't tell anyone?"

Aang nodded, trying not to seem too eager, but failing miserably. He couldn't take the suspense any longer, and broke into a wholehearted grin.

"Don't worry Katara, you can trust me."

The look on the young Avatar's face was enough to make Katara smile, and she began her explanation, making sure to keep her voice down in case Sokka and Toph got back early.

"Well, I'm not completely sure, but I think Sokka and Toph like each other."

"So?" Aang was really puzzled now. I mean, sure at first the group hadn't really gotten along too well with Toph, and Sokka could be insensitive at times, but they all seemed to get along relatively well. "I thought we all liked each other, right?"

"Of course Aang, but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean, they _really_ like each other. You know, as more than just friends."

"Oh… _oh!_" Aang felt the heat rising to his cheeks as realization dawned on him. Suddenly, Aang became aware of his close proximity with Katara, and began to wish he wouldn't have to talk about this subject with her, of all people.

Then, a thought crossed Aang's mind. If Katara could tell that Sokka and Toph liked each other, then could she tell that _he _had a crush on _her_? What if she knew?!? Aang had to find out.

"Well, urm… how do you tell? I mean, if someone likes someone else?"

"There are a lot of hints. I'm surprised you didn't see it earlier. Like, they're always making up excuses to spend time together, just like tonight. Did you notice how Toph jumped at the chance to gather fire wood with Sokka?"

Aang nodded, but his mind was on something else. The truth was, he hadn't noticed Toph's eagerness because he had been to busy thinking about how he got to spend the evening alone with Katara. Thinking back to all the times he had offered to go water bend with Katara, he wondered if he was that obvious.

"And, let's see, what else. Oh, there's the way they act around each other. Sokka's constantly trying to seem all cool, and Toph's almost always blushing! That's about as obvious as it gets."

Aang was glad for the darkness. It hid his pink- tinted cheeks very well.

Katara poked at the fire with a nearby twig, trying to keep it going.

"What's taking them so long?"

There was a silence, in which both Katara and Aang seemed to be lost in thought. As if just remembering what they were talking about, Katara snapped out of trance and triumphantly declared the last trait.

"Being helpful!"

"Huh?" Aang was now staring strait at her, confusion written clearly all over his face.

"The last way to tell if someone likes someone else, being helpful."

Aang sat there and contemplated the trait for a long time before turning back to Katara.

"But, other than giving each other a hand during a fight or something, Toph and Sokka don't help each other out that often."

After Aang had spoken, he instantly regretted it. Her face fell at first, before adopting a very serious expression. It seemed like an eternity before she spoke again.

"That why it's last. Even in some of the best relationships, people aren't very helpful anymore. I guess for some it's just too hard to put one person's well being before our own."

The unexplainable need to take Katara in his arms came over Aang, and he had to fight hard to push it down, though it wouldn't disappear completely. Instead, he reached over and pulled at the string that held Katara's braid in place, causing her curly locks to fall around her shoulders and frame her face, leaving only her 'hair loopies' in tact. He wasn't sure what caused him to do it, but looking back, it probably wasn't the best option to get him out of the awkward conversation.

At first Katara was taken aback, but her surprise quickly turned into annoyance. Aang had actually reached over and pulled her braid out. That meant in the morning she would have to spend her time redoing it instead of making breakfast, or helping back up camp.

Aang reached over to tuck a loose strand behind her ear, but she swatted his hand away. Turning back to the now dieing fire she pouted.

"Now I'll have to get up early to re-braid it." When she noticed the young monk still looking at her, her mouth turned over into an ugly frown.

"What!"

Aang cringed as she snapped at him. It seemed like everything he did, he managed to somehow mess up. Not wanting her to see the tears welling up in his eyes, Aang turned away and slowly walked back to Appa. Flopping back down in his buddy's fur Aang turned up so that the stars were in his full view, and he could watch Katara out of the corner of his eye.

He sighed deeply, and tried his best to seek comfort in the darkness. His last memories of the night were of the stars echoing his thoughts back down onto him…

'_I was just trying to be helpful.'_

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Aang awoke the next morning to see that he was the only one up. He noted that Sokka and Toph were both at the camp sleeping quite heavily, and that there was no sign of fire wood anywhere in the camp. Aang decided not to dwell on what they did last night, seeing as how he probably wouldn't want to know.

He then turned to Katara, and noted that she was still asleep, with her hair un- braided. With a small smile he silently chuckled to himself._ 'So much for getting up early…'_

Aang knew that they would have to do some traveling that day, and they should get an early start, so one by one he began waking everyone up. Thankfully, when he got to Katara, she was too busy teasing Toph and Sokka about where they were all night that she didn't even remember about her hair.

Katara was her normal self again, even joking around with Aang whenever Toph blushed at something Sokka had said.

Once camp was packed, and the group was settled on Appa, the teasing still had yet to cease. In a desperate attempt to change the subject, Sokka decided to make a comment about Katara's hair.

"Dad was right." Smiling warmly, he took a lock of his sister's hair and twirled it between his fingers. "You look even _more_ like mom when you wear your hair like this."

Despite sitting on Appa's head, Aang had heard the whole thing, even the gasp of excitement from Katara. Not to say that he wasn't surprised when she slid into place next to him and placed an innocent kiss on his lips.

Aang was shocked to say in the least, but his happiness beat out his surprise by a mile. "Wha- did you really just… does this mean that you… why?"

Katara just laughed and slipped her hand into his.

"Because you were so helpful."

_**Note:** Okay, this is a one- shot, and there are plenty more to come. If you have any requests I would be happy to take them, so please send them to me in a comment. I came up with this idea a long time ago, but I did get some of the hair-part from another fic I read, but I can't remember the name. Please review!_


	4. Kataang: Cold

**Cold**

"Aang, I told you! You're the only one without a parka, and it's _freezing_ out here!"

Katara was bustling around camp, digging through the group's belongings in hopes of finding something to keep her friend warm.

"And _I_ told _you_!It's not that cold out. Really Katara, you're getting all worked up over nothing."

"Found it!" she exclaimed, holding up the extra blanket that Gran- Gran had packed. She tossed it over to where Aang was sitting and ordered him to wrap up in it.

He protested, but she shot him a stern look. Although he didn't like being babied, he knew Katara was only trying to help.

"Fine, but from now on remember the cold doesn't bother me okay? The weather was constantly changing at the Air temples, and you learn to get used to-"

Katara, who hadn't been listening to a word he was saying, now began to talk to herself.

"Okay, now what was it Gran- Gran used to tell us to do? Hmm… no, that wasn't it…. Maybe- no, that's not right either…."

"Katara? KATARA! Are you even listening to me!?!" Aang was growing very aggravated as Katara continued to pace the floor.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember!" Katara quickly made her way over to where Aang was and slipped under the covers with him. She then put her arms around him and pulled him close to her.

Aang stopped his rambling as soon as Katara had pressed herself up against him. All other thoughts in his mind dissolved and the only words he was left with were

"Um… what are you doing?"

"We're sharing body heat! Gran- Gran always said that it's the best way to keep warm."

"For the last time! I'm not-" she pulled him closer in the embrace and once again all other words were forgotten. Managing a sheepish smile he wrapped his own arms around her waist.

"You know Katara, on second thought, it is a little chilly."


	5. Iroh: Spirits' Tale

_**  
Note:** Sorry it took me so long to update this, but here we are! I felt like doling something philosophical with Iroh. It isn't my favorite, but I like it well enough. It is basically a giant metaphor. _

_Enjoy!_

**Spirits' Tale**

That morning the sky was a brilliant sight. As Iroh strolled peacefully down the path, he noted the unity in this sunrise,

_The red of the sun for fire,_

_The blue of the sky for water,_

_The green of the hills for earth,_

_The white of the clouds for air…_

Settling on a comfortable hill for a good view, the old man lifted his ancient teapot from the picnic basket and prepared his morning cup. Being his age, there weren't many elders to tell him the stories of their past, and deciding he was in the mood for a good tale he leaned back against a large tree trunk, preparing to watch the spirits' legends unfurl.

As most stories, the sunrise started peacefully. The four elements, four nations all working together to bring on yet another day. This sort of teamwork was just short of perfect, too good to be true.

If only it could last forever.

Alas, there is no team without a leader. Someone to make sure things stayed fair, balanced. Perhaps this is why the spirits chose to have an Avatar. A little bit of everything, he was there.

_Where the earth met the sun,_

_Where the sun touched the sky,_

_The same sky the clouds danced across every morning_

Where things overlapped, when everyone contributed to make something beautiful. The Avatar was the one who kept everything in balance, he was the sunrise.

But when the Avatar leaves peace won't remain for long. It was just a matter of time before, without the guidance of the avatar, someone tries to gain control.

Iroh watched as the sun rose in the sky. It went up, higher and higher until it no longer touched the earth. The higher it went the more light it shed, erasing the calm blue that once filled the sky and painting it shades of orange and red.

And finally, the heat the fireball gave off became to much, and the clouds evaporated from sight.

The Dragon of the West took a sip of his tea, but it suddenly tasted bitter. S the scene continued to play out in front of him Iroh silently criticized the spirits on their choice of story.

' _I think I've heard this one before…'_

The sun was high now, and the old man concluded his sunrise was over, and his story to-be-continued. As Iroh gathered his belongings and placed them in the basket, he thought about the legend he had just witnessed. He knew that although things seemed bad now balance would come when the four elements united once again.

There would be peace at tonight's sunset, when the Avatar fixes what he has broken.

As a tiny cloud, the only one left, floated across the sky and covered the sun, Iroh felt a whole-hearted grin make it way onto his features.

' _I don't mind waiting, but while I do, it's nice to have some shade.'_

The old man rose and made his way back down the hill and across the dirt rode, temporarily protected from the sun by the last cloud in the sky.

Tonight peace would be restored, because the Avatar came back for them.

Iroh paused just long enough to let out a chuckle. Whether it take 24 hours or 100 years, he always liked a happy ending.

_**Note:** I hope you liked it!_

_If you don't understand something, send it to me in a review and I'll be sure to clear it up!_

_Thanks, and please review!!!!!_


	6. SokkaYue: Touched by the Moon

_**Note:** Something happened, and I've been in a very depressed mood lately. I suppose this was partly a product of my sadness, and partly from my theory that one of Sokka's children might be touched by the Moon Spirit, almost as a sign that Yue is still there, and to pass on her legacy._

_Keshii, if you're reading this, I'm sorry!_

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A lot can happen in ten years. The members of the Aang gaang learned this, just as all others before them.

It had been ten long years since the day Sokka and Katara found the missing Avatar in the ice. The Fire Lord had been defeated, and peace restored as their world continued to change.

The once tiny South Pole was now a flourishing city, just like their counterparts in the north. Ba Sing Se was freed from the likes of Azula, and New Ozi went back to being Omashu. Even the Air Temples were put to good use, a lovely getaway for refugees whose homes were in the process of being rebuilt. All except the Southern one, this was reserved for bending training with the new generation of air benders.

Yes, it seemed that the Air Nomads were saved after all. It was a beautiful wedding, soon followed by 3 adorable children, two air benders, and talented young water bender. Just when everyone thought the Avatar couldn't get any happier news spread that Katara was, once again, expecting.

As for the other famous members of the small group, Toph and Sokka, things were going just as well. With a large family of their own, the Water Tribe Warrior knew that he had everything he wanted, and was continually confused when his mind would, many a time, drift back to memories of the moon and a certain princess.

Of course, no one forgets their first love; it is so much a part of who you are. Although Sokka certainly loved Toph, and had a few kids to prove it, he began to miss Yue terribly. At night he was plagued by thoughts of what their children would have looked like, or where they would have lived.

His sister began to notice Sokka's strange behavior, and reminded him it was better this way. Even if Yue had lived, she would have been stuck in an arranged marriage, and at least now she was able to watch over him. This thought only seemed to make matters worse, and Katara hoped the birth of his first son would be enough to end this depression.

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Everyone was crowded around an extremely exhausted Toph, and the newest addition to the family, a beautiful baby boy. The blind woman held the child protectively close, as many small hands reached for the newborn. Katara smiled, as she gently laid a hand on her swollen abdomen, and watched her brother closely.

It seemed that everyone in the world had disappeared to Sokka. He was unaware of his 3 other children fighting for a chance to see the baby, or even that Katara and Aang watched him in amusement. The only thing that existed to him was his wife, and the brand-new life she held in her hands.

And he cried when he saw the wisps of white hair sprouting from the boy's head.

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_**Note:** I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you think, or let me know if you need something explained. If you like this, I'm thinking about doing some future fics about it, so let me know if you would read them. I'm off to play the Avatar Video Game, in hopes to lighten my spirits!_

_Please Review! It would make me so happy!_


	7. Sokka: Dear Little Sister

_Dear Little Sister,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, but things have been pretty crazy around here. It turns out that the triplets are all earth benders, so Toph has been focusing on their training, leaving yours truly to take care of the home. I'm starting to miss the traveling days, you know, where I hunted and you cooked. It seems the family is starting to figure out I don't make the best housewife, seeing as how we eat out every other night._

_On a happier note, last week we found out that little Kya, (she just turned 8, you know) wants to be a water bender. She is always asking for stories about you or Mom. I just about go crazy every time I see her, she looks exactly like you, and I'm the only one who knows it! Brishen and the triplets were too young to remember what you look like and Kya's never even seen you! Even though Toph can't see Kya, she still notices the resemblance. She even has your healing abilities!_

_Although Kya looks like you, it's Brishen who has you attitude. He doesn't care if we live in the Earth Kingdom, oh no, he still insists on wearing Water Tribe clothing. He's a visionary, that kid. My pride and joy. A true warrior, he won't let anything get to him, even when the triplets make fun of his hair color. _

_About his hair, I think he has finally reached the age where he realizes how different he is. I have told him it is because the Moon Spirit is in him, but I left the part about Yue out, because Toph doesn't like me talking about her. He seems satisfied with the answer now, but I don't know how long it will be before he asks again._

_Back to the reason I wrote you… our three young earth benders are progressing very quickly, and they are taking up much of our time. It has forced Toph and I to come to what may be the hardest decision of our lives. I know Kya has much potential as a Water Bender. It seems she has you gift, baby sister, although she would rather focus on healing instead of becoming a true maser, like you or Aang. She could do great things, but because of our current position in the Earth Kingdom she would never learn. That's where you come in._

_Now, I'm sure you're busy with your own family, and you have to travel back and forth from the Southern Air Temple to the South Pole for Yumiko's training, but please, hear me out. If you could stay at the South Pole while Aang and Yumiko travel, then Kya could stay with you and learn to heal._

_Before you say no, think about yourself, and how much you wanted to learn to bend. This could be her only chance! I know she would be thrilled to finally meet you, and even happier if you could give her a few pointers. Like I said before, she only wants to heal, so you're probably wondering why you would have to teach her. As you know, Brishen has part of the Moon in him. I think it would be disrespectful to keep him away from the Water Tribe, and away from his sister. You and I would know how that is, huh? Long story short, I want you to teach him to be a Master Water bender._

_I want him to be able to protect himself, in case something ever… happened. I don't want him to have to make the same sacrifice Yue did. I heard after what happened at the North Pole that they moved the Twi and La (those coy fish) to the South, and I want him to protect them, so that the spirit won't have to be replaced._

_If you did this you would officially be the best sister in the world, and I would forever be in your debt! Kya is a sweetie, and I know she would behave perfectly, and Brishen can be quite a handful, but I think you could handle it. I mean, you do live with three air benders. _

_If you do choose to take up this wonderful offer (which I'm sure you will) then I have another request. When you show Brishen Twi and La, please tell him the legend of Yue, and explain why he had white hair. I really want him to know._

_Of course, Aang would have to travel up here and get them, because we can't all fly, now can we? Besides, you haven't been here in forever, and I've missed you a lot, baby sister. Thanks again, and I'll be watching for Appa on the horizon!_

_Love,_

_Your Big Brother Sokka_

Katara set the letter down, and ran a hand through her long, unbraided hair with a sigh.

"Aang!"

Aang turned at the sound of his wife's voice and noticed she was packing.

"What's wrong, Katara?"

She slung the bag over her shoulder headed toward the stable.

"I'll get Appa ready if you'll drop the kids off at Dad's." Using Aang's confused expression as a cue to explain, she drew in a deep breath and continued "It looks like we're going to pick up some visitors."

_**Note: **This is a continuation from the last one, I hope you liked it! Please comment and let me know if I should continue this or not!_

_Thanks!_


	8. Kataang: Smile Like That

**Smile Like That**

The three sat on the bison,

They'd been traveling all day,

Aang watched as Sokka told a joke,

And made Katara laugh that way.

For Sokka was her brother,

And to her family comes first,

So he was always on her mind,

A blessing and a curse.

But little did Katara know,

That Aang's love was filled to the brim,

And he'd give up the whole wide world,

If she'd laugh that way with him.

Time passed and the two grew close,

Perhaps closer than brother and sister,

And there came a point in the young monk's life,

When he felt like he needed to kiss her.

So he gathered his courage,

And took her by the hand,

He told her that he loved her,

And that he could be her man.

And her beautiful smile,

And that way that she laughed,

Gave Aang the assurance,

He had picked the right path.

She flashed a brilliant grin,

And then gave him a kiss,

But little did they know,

Sokka saw all of this.

Sokka let his mind drift back,

To those years so long ago,

When their lives were only made of,

The frozen ice and snow.

There were memories of his mother,

And the rest of his family,

But mostly of his sister,

And that smile he never sees.

And now he watched Aang and Katara,

Spying from where he sat,

Because it seemed Katara had found,

Some one else to make her smile like that.

_**Note:** This poem took a lot of time, and it went through a lot of revision, but I think its okay. I know, I know, not my best, but I think it's alright._

_Now, about my Tokka/ Kataang fic that takes place after the war. I posted the first two chapters in this fic, and I plan to continue with it after I finish Amnesia. It will be continued in it's own fic, I plan to call it "Touched by the Moon". If any of you have a better idea for a title, then just send it to me in a review._

_Please Review and tell me what you think, Thanks!_


	9. Aang: Darkness

**Darkness:**

It took him away from the pain, away from the worry, away from his duties and his failure. He had blacked out, right then and there, and he was officially taken out of the game. Whatever happened in that cave after he was unconscious wasn't his fault, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Aang never thought he would love the darkness so much.

Into the black, the unknown, the nothingness he fell. Landing in the very pool of his mind, and splashing around with his thoughts, but never really thinking. Here, life was careless. It didn't matter that the Earth Kingdom had almost fallen; he couldn't remember any of that. The only thing he knew was this place he was in.

And every once in a while a nagging feeling would overcome him and he would struggle against himself to get back to the real world, out of his safe mind and back into the fight, though he wasn't sure why. It had something to do with a girl… but none of that mattered now. Whenever he tried to think about the girl he would feel his heart break open and drop to the floor. Who would want to remember someone who evoked such a terrible feeling? No, he would much rather stay here, in this place where he was always numb.

Besides, why would he want to go back? There is no pain here, no worry… but no real happiness either. Here, it is neutral, but isn't that better than getting to feel happiness for a split second, then feeling an enormous amount of pain?

And so he floated. There was no bending in this place, but he could care less. He was all alone, that meant no world that he needed to save, no war that he was responsible for, and most importantly, no Avatar.

Then, everything happened in reverse. He felt himself lifting out of the pool and flying up out of the darkness. Suddenly, at full speed he came to a quick, jolting stop and it all came back.

This world was as real as the scorching pain he felt in his back, as real as the lines of worry etched on his face, as real as the girl holding him in her warm arms. But not just any girl, she was _the_ girl. And the relief washed over him, how happy he was she was alright and there with him, but after a split second the happiness was gone, and he felt his heart break, and his smile drop.

Back to the pain, the worry, the heartbreak. He left his mind and went back to his real life, with the world he had to save, and the war he had to end. A world controlled by the Avatar, even when he was only a tired young kid.

Aang never thought he would miss the darkness so much.

_**Note:** Well, there you have it. You all knew it was only a matter of time before I too did a one shot about the season two finale. This takes place in between the time Aang fell, and when he woke up in Katara's arms._

_I know this was a little depressing, but so was the season finale. Pleas give me feedback, I would like to know what you think! _

_I also need to know if you think I should keep putting my drabbles in here, or if you think I should make them each their own fic, or only a few of them. If you think I should make a few drabbles their own fic please tell me the names in your comment._


	10. Toph: Chill

_**Member of the Boomeraang Squad: **charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, and honorary member SnakeEyes16_

**Chill**

The air carried a certain chill, the kind that could send a river of shivers up and down your spine. It was the chill, Toph concluded, or the fact that she was holding onto Sokka's arm that gave her those goose bumps that dotted her arms.

She had never enjoyed flying, but in these particular circumstances she could soar through the air forever. Company makes all the difference.

The ride was silent, for the most part. It seemed the closer they got to Ba Sing Se the more the tension on the bison grew, and the more bad memories flooded the three travelers.

Memories of Appa being stolen (though Toph was grateful for the missing saddle), of the Joo Dees, memories that would have rather been forgotten.

And here they were, flying back to see if something else Aang loves had been stolen. As much as Toph hated Ba Sing Se, she had to admit she was a little bit worried when Aang had told them Katara was in trouble, although he did have a tendency to fabricate things and exaggerate danger when it came to the water bender.

And it came to the point where Toph would have said something, anything to break the tension. This wasn't the piece and quiet in which a person could relax, it was much worse. Their silence hung heavy through the air, and the very air she breathed seemed to be thick with hatred and worry, far from the happiness she felt as she clung to Sokka.

Before they arrived at their destination, Toph could feel a sour mood brewing. Despite the fact she still held herself close to Sokka, her secure euphoric feeling was swept away with the chill in the wind, and she was left with raw hatred and worried anticipation.

Eventually she released Sokka's arm and let herself sink back into the depression the war carried. She now contributed to that unnatural silence her companions were giving off.

Running a hand across her arm, she noticed her goose bumps were gone, but she could care less.

_**Note:** This is a Toph centric fic I made; it takes place during the bison trip to save Katara in the finale of season two. It just kind of poured out._

_It is supposed to evoke that sad rumble in the pit of your tummy, it's all about how the war affects Toph in her moods, although it is hard to get and is probably the most pointless of any of my fics. It came out of me while I was trying to write the 8th chapter of Amnesia. _

_Yay for the tiny bit of Tokka, Boo for Toph not caring!_


	11. KanaPakku: Said

**Said**

They told her he was old. They said his time was coming soon anyway, and that the disease would just kill him faster. Less suffering, the healer assured her, though she didn't know if he was referring to her or the dying man in her arms.

He may have been old, she told them, but he lived young. He may be sick, but he is also very stubborn. She said there would be no suffering, because he was not going to die.

They said it was denial, and she had to let go. He was going to die, and thinking he wasn't would only make things worse. Don't give yourself false hope, they would say, because the truth will reveal itself soon.

But through their lectures she refused to believe it was the end. He was the most stubborn thing on the planet, and when she had left for the South all those years ago he didn't give up on her, and there was no way she would give up on him.

At least, that's what she said.

Because sickness is a worthy opponent and as time wore on he lost his fighting spirit. This didn't bother her at all; she had never liked fighting anyway. Even when he began to grow paler and thin she did not acknowledge his disease, and she said he looked perfectly fine when he asked.

And when they told her he only had one day left she didn't reschedule her trip to the market or call her grandkids down to say good-bye. She simply stopped in at around 1:00 like she did every day and said hello, and that she would see him tomorrow.

That night of the new moon Pakku passed away.

The people in my village like to tell Kana's story as some sort of warning, but I don't see it that way. I think it's a beautiful story of unspoken love, and the things we never say.


	12. Appa: Grandma's Stories

**Grandma's Stories**

Okay, it's my turn to tell a story. This is a great tale that my grandma used to tell me. Now, it never really happened to me, but it did happen to my granny. You see, when she was younger _her _grandma told the legend to her, and then she passed it on to me. I'll do my best to explain it…

A very, very long time ago, way back before cars or telephones, or any of that stuff, the world was different. It was… well, full of magic. Everyone was in tune with nature, and there were groups for all the different elements, you know, like, instead of countries. So anyway, certain people in these groups, the ones who were closest to nature, could actually move their element. And of course, they had this leader to keep everything in balance called the… well, it started with an "A"…

Well, this guy (or girl) made sure everything was going good, and he could also move all four of the elements! He must have been so in tune with nature…that's probably how hippies got started… but anyway, this one time the A…Avatar! Yeah, that's it! The Avatar disappeared and the world went into, like, total chaos. So the Fire people started attacking everyone, and all this went on for 100 years, until some girl and her brother found him in an iceberg after crashing their canoe.

Anyway, he had to learn how to move all four elements and stop the King of the Fire People before a huge comet came and gave the bad guys strength. So he did all of this, even though he was just little kid. Then after the whole thing was over he flew back to the South Pole where the southern tribe of the water people lived. Oh, right, he had this big bison that could fly and was stuck in the iceberg with him.

So on their way back the bison stopped at the iceberg he was stuck in for 100 years, and he wouldn't leave. No matter how much the girl and her brother begged him the Avatar would never leave his bison, so he stayed there while his poor pet tried to get back to their life before they left the past. My granny said that's where the Avatar spent the rest of his days, but they say that bison live a very long time, and he is still there, waiting as many centuries as it takes to get back to his life in the past where his master was by his side.

And to this day, if you're feeling daring, you can pack up some food and warm clothes, (make sure to bring an extra blanket, the nights there can get pretty cold) and travel those thousands of miles to the artic waters the over to Antarctica. If you look close enough, you might even see some remains of the old Southern Water tribe, though most of it would be long gone by now.

But don't stop there, keep going. Through the blizzards, the blistering winds, and the ever intensifying cold. Trust me, it's worth it. Once you've flown over the continent you'll see a lot of glaciers that look very similar to each other. This is the part where you have to close your eyes and let some greater force lead you. If you trust in full, and are pure of heart you will be led over miles and miles of ice and water, until you get caught in a current.

Not just any current, either. This current is gentle yet strong; it leads you, but at the same time is being led by something else. It will take you through a maze of ice, until it dies down, and you know you are there. You can't exactly see it yet, but you can feel it, and if you believe in all that magic and moving, I've heard it really happens.

Out of the chilled water pops a huge glowing sphere of… well, it's hard to tell. It's a part air, a part ice, but mostly magic. It ain't any of that fairy-princess magic baloney, either. It's sad… there's a longing, and a wish. So, this sphere is open, the top has been melted through time, and if you look closely you can make out a shadow.

Now this is where you're really tested. Nothing will happen if you don't move, it's like, you know you have move, there's an itch in you. Everything is happening at once and your heart is racing, and your head is pounding and something is pulling you toward this glowing block of… whatever it is.

And this is the part where you throw caution to the wind and step out onto the block of ice. If you round the corner nice and slow, and stay quiet you might catch a glimpse of the bison. If you can see him, keep going, and if you are truly lucky you can creep up to him and lay a hand on the center of his arrow.

Granny says when this happens you see the world like never before. You see the world when it was young, and if you believed you could move the elements. Then, because he can never grant his own wish, if you are pure he will grant you whatever is your heart's greatest desire. Of course, the person's wish is always the same: for others to see the world as wonderful as it was those many years ago, before war and hate.

That's why one day I'm going to make the journey and visit the bison, but instead of wishing for another visitor, I'll wish for him and his master to go back to the world they used to known and set the bison free. And who knows, maybe in return they'll do something to change the course of time, and we'll find ourselves living in a magical place, too.

You say you don't believe, huh? Well, that's up to you, but I can't say I don't feel sorry for you. I know it sounds crazy, but haven't any of you ever thought that maybe there was magic and goodness out there, even if it's in our past.

Hmm? Oh, you want to know who my great grandma is. Well, I never actually met her, but I heard her name was Katara and everyone just called her Gran-Gran.

_**Note:** Whew, that went through so much revision, but it's from the heart. It started out as letter "U" for Kataang Abc, then turned into a story about Appa called "Take Me Back", but eventually ended up like this. I feel so magical when I read this, and I loved writing it, although it was hard to act like I didn't know squat about the Avatar._

_Reviews please!!!!_


	13. Toph: A Reflection Fallen

**A Reflection Fallen**

What was that her mother used to say? Ah, yes:_ "You are a reflection of what you love." _Toph supposed her mother meant family, or people that you loved, but she didn't understand because she was just a little girl and never truly loved her family. Not like she was supposed to.

But Toph did love the earth. From the time she was very small she felt a deep connection to it. She felt as if she could breathe better after the gardeners overturned their soil, she felt as if someone tore her own flesh when the workers dug the hole for their pond, and she felt weighted with the addition of each new this or that for their yard, just as the earth was.

Toph knew from a young age this trait was special, because she knew no other in her family felt the same way. She also quickly caught on to the fact that she was special too, and that everyone else in her home could "see" things out of their eyes. Her parents paid no mind when she told them that she could see too, only with her feet instead. She was just a little girl of 4 or 5, and not very articulate so she couldn't explain it very well. By the time she grew older, they had stopped listening to her altogether, so she never did get the chance.

But she remembers it best when she was young. The unexplainable feeling that the earth was always there, listening to her when no one else would. There was never a point where she tried to ignore it, she had always embraced it with open arms because to the earth she was not broken or handicapped or weak.

"_You are a reflection of what you love." _Toph remembers her mother saying it, because even though they never listened to her, she was always listening to them. This time she wouldn't bother trying to explain how she loved the earth so much, perhaps more than her own family, no. This time Toph would let them believe she was weak and broken and she could never be fixed, and she would go on being a reflection of the earth, instead of her parents.

And even though she'd spent the remainder of her life trying to convince herself she wasn't, deep down Toph was grateful for the security of her parents. Even though she'd go on running away, the truth was they were they to catch her if she fell, and that in some way earned a little of her love, though not enough for her to be their reflection.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"_Oh my, oh my, Mr. and Mrs. Bei Fong, Toph's done it again! She was running around the yard and she's gone and fallen!"_

"_My dear Toph, you must be more careful, you know you can't see anything out here, you could hurt yourself!"_

"_But Mama, I can see, just not with my-"_

"_Oh hush, none of that nonsense. Let's go and get you cleaned up now."_

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

Sitting on Appa, Toph pondered her mother's quote some more, trying to dig back through past memories of falling and being picked back up again to get some idea of what she should do.

"The Earth Kingdom has fallen."

"_So tell me Mother, what should one do when they see their reflection fall, and there's no one to pick it back up?"_

xXx

_**Note:**__ Well, here we go. That last quote from the Earth King is one that is used waaayyy too often, and it gets on my nerves a lot, so I decided to use it…_

_The last part is a quote from Toph._

_Review please!!!_


	14. Sokka: Old Bone Comb

**Old Bone Comb**

It was one of those nights again. The nights when he couldn't stop remembering all the death he had seen, until it all led back to his mother. Sokka loved so many people that had been killed; there was Yue, Suki, and Aang. The war had been the worst in the world, but it was over now, thanks to Aang, and the larger than life price he paid.

And on every one of these nights he would lie awake and thank whatever cruel spirit who chooses who lives or dies that they hadn't taken his sister. Little Katara, she was all he had left. His father had passed on long ago; the war had worn him down. After Aang's death the two siblings came back home for their father's funeral, and home is where they stayed.

Every once in a while Sokka got word of how Lady Bei Fong was doing, he always felt obligated to check up on her. If he could have chosen, he would have gotten Toph to come and visit, but that would only remind Katara of Aang, and Sokka didn't want to hurt his sister any further.

It could get cold in the small igloo they shared. Even with the below freezing temperatures, Katara refused to have a fire lit in their home, just as their mother had. He glanced over at his little sister, she had fallen asleep in a sitting position, hair still braided and looped. For as long as he could remember Katara had fallen asleep that way when something troubled her. She would try to stay awake, but exhaustion would take over, and she would fall asleep in the middle of a blink.

If his mother was still here, she would crawl over to Katara and slowly unbraid her hair, combing through it with gentle care, so not to wake her up, but because his mother perished in the fire Sokka crawled over instead, and he was the one to unbraid her hair and run through it with the bone-carved comb, just as she would hum that old lullaby to him when he couldn't get to sleep. Katara stirred a bit in her sleep, and by the slight upturning of her lips, he could tell she was dreaming of their mother and father, and of Aang.

Katara only ever smiled when she dreamed.

And then he laid her down on the small pallet next to him, and draped a thick quilt over her to try and keep the cold out. After all, this was the coldest night of the year, and they didn't have a fire. For the first time in a while Sokka knew he was going to cry. He was going to sit on the floor like the little lost child he was and bawl his eyes out, until the next day when he would put on his strong face and take care of his sister, because that last piece of her broken heart belonged to him, and he wouldn't dare lose it.

Until then he would cry for Aang, and his father, and Suki, and Yue, then he would cry out for his Mama, because at a time like this he needs her most of all. And when he was done with crying, and ready to sleep he would try to the best of his ability to sing that lullaby for himself, because he didn't have the heart to wake Katara up, or the courage to go to sleep without it.

But none of this would happen in front of the fire. No, never in front of a fire.


	15. Said Katara to Aang: Music

_**Note:**__ What Katara says about Avatar, benders, and music f__rom Aang's point of view._

**Music**

She told me it was like music; that the ones who moved the earth were like the steady rhythmic drum beats, the benders of fire were the shiny brass and sharp blow of horns, those who pushed and pulled the oceans were like the endless flow of strummed strings and ringing bells, the people who rode the winds were the soaring melodies whistling through a wooden flute, and the single being who could do all of these things was the conductor.

I told her I would rather be in the band than commanding it.


	16. Yumiko: Daddy Looks

**Daddy Looks**

Daddy looks at me different now. He won't smile anymore, not since he found out. Mama cries a lot more now, too. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but it must have been something real bad 'cause they don't talk about it when the sun is out, only whispers at night when they think I'm sleeping.

Sometimes Mama tells me it ain't my fault, but I know she only ever cries when I mess up. I heared Daddy and Mama talking a while ago. They were saying things about me again, and it musta' been bad 'cause Mama was crying. That's when Daddy first used the word:

"Tainted"

He called me a tainted bender, then Mama slapped, hard, right across the face. They both started crying after that, and Daddy held Mama for a long time while I sat there in the hall watching, alone. They didn't know I was there, I guess Mama forgot that she never tucked me into bed, but I'm not mad at her, because last night used to be Daddy's night to tuck me in, back when he smiled.

Things have gotten better since then. Daddy puts me to bed now, and the whispers at night stopped right after I said I was sorry I loved the water and air. I said it for lots of different reasons, one of 'em was because I figured out what that word meant, that nasty word, tainted. People talk about me a lot, they call me that word and say it's because I move the air and feel the water, they say it isn't natural, and that the Avatar shouldn't have had a kid.

I still don't know what I did wrong, all I know is that now, when Daddy tucks me into bed he looks at me different, and won't kiss my cheek.

_**Note:** This one is about Yumiko, and how she can bend water and air. (Yumiko is Aang and Katara's first child)_


	17. Katara: She Likes

**She Likes**

She likes the Artic for many reasons. It is close to her home, the Southern Water Tribe, and not too far from his home, the Southern Air Temple. She likes the never-leaving chill in her bones, and walking through the snow and ice to get anywhere. She likes the newly built city, and the way that whenever she walks through the complicated streets and canals she can remember the old village where she grew up, but she doesn't have to live there anymore.

And most of all, she likes the ocean. _"Look Katara, but don't swim. It's far too cold". _Ever since her father passed away it seems like everyone in the city acts as her parent, but she was never a very obedient daughter anyway.

She usually swims when it rains. (Some comment on how it rains much more often now that she is back from her travels). If it was during the summer months and the sun was out constantly she could sometimes get him to come with her, but she was usually on her own. She would take her time walking to the edge of where the ocean meets the land because she likes the feel on the rain on her face.

She swims with her clothes on, because even the most in tune with the tides are still subject to the temperature, and she likes the way she knows that she shouldn't. In these times she never bends, just swims like she did when she was a child. She likes to do this because it reminds her that others in the Artic may bend, but none of them just plain swim, and it is for this reason that you can sometimes make out the shadow of a girl swimming along the canals in the city, under all the boats and by all the people, reminding them she is the only swimmer, too.

She likes the stinging of the ocean on her scratches because she knows that means it is healing them, and just like anything else, pain is the only way to close up old wounds. She never heals with the ocean water; instead she lets it heal for her. She likes the way the ocean smells, not that fishy smell you get in the daytime, but that sweet smell of the moonlight you get when swimming at night. She supposes the only reason she doesn't freeze during these sunless nights is because of him, and the longer she spent with him, the more tolerant she is of nature's elemental tests, like he is.

And then, after she's finished and climbed out of the water, she sits on the ice and listens to the rain sing with the ocean and the moon. Sometimes she sings along. She never builds a fire to heat up some snow and wash herself out with it, or even bother to dry herself. Instead, she stays wet, and keeps her braid down, draped across her back, because she likes the feeling of the ocean in her hair.

She could stay there forever, by the sea, by the ocean, in the Arctic, listening to Twi and La mingling with the rain drops, until a small breeze blows by her, reminding her where she should be.

And she always goes back to him, because she likes the feeling of the rain on her face, and the ocean in her hair, but she likes his hand in her own the best.


	18. Toph: MakeBelieve

_**Note:** This is a one sided Tokka one-shot that takes place during the time the Gaang is undercover in the Fire Nation, as rumored in Season Three._

* * *

**Make-Believe**

In the shack, he was totally normal, if Sokka was ever normal to begin with. One would suspect he would be uptight and extremely protective seeing as how they were in the Fire Nation, undercover, but he was surprisingly… himself. Toph supposed his sarcasm and attraction to meat was more like a comfort now instead of his personality traits, and even Aang seemed to appreciate the warrior's carnivorous apatite.

Sokka would still do anything in his power to embarrass Aang, and pick his nose at the dinner table, and occasionally talk in only haikus. He was still getting splinters from the wooden utensils they used (he eventually gave up and ate with his hands) and somehow always managing to rip a newly mended pair of pants when all he ever did was sit around. In fact, Sokka-wise, it was like they still lived in Ba Sing Se. If only they could trade their Fire Nation clothes for usual garments, and get some solid walls around them instead of these thin pieces of wood.

But, those things didn't really bother Toph (sometimes she could trick herself into make-believing they didn't bother her friends either). Thick walls smother her, and clothes did nothing for her. What _did_ matter, though, were the tiny assurances that told her that although they were in a different Nation, her friends were still the same people. How Aang would constantly worry about Appa and Momo, how Katara would constantly worry about Aang, and how Sokka would still treat her like a brother (he seemed to not yet acknowledge the fact that Toph was, indeed, a girl).

But once they stepped out of the safety of their shack, well, that is a different story _entirely. _For one thing, Toph couldn't see where she was going. There would be a cloth tied around her face to cover her green Earth Kingdom eyes, and shoes on her feet with those stupid little points at the toe. Her long thick hair had been chopped off and tied neatly into a top knot, and she had to parade around the slums of the Fire Nation in total darkness.

Luckily, Sokka was there, holding her by the arm and guiding her around to wherever they needed to go. She liked to think whenever they stepped out onto those streets they became make-believe characters in some sort of strange play, not really themselves. She was the helpless blind girl, and Sokka was the strong and dependable servant, out to her rescue. There was a lot of formality between masters and servants, so they had no more hearty laughs, or stupid grins. She knew she was allowed to giggle, but it still seemed so out of place in these depressing slums.

This same kind of formality was one she hated at home, though now it didn't seem so bad. Toph couldn't figure out if it was because now this all had a purpose, and a consequence, and if she blew their cover they would be killed, or if it was because she had done some growing on their journey, or if it was all sort of nice that it was Sokka who was treating her like a lady. She suspected it was a little of each.

Walking around the market was a peculiar thing without her "vision", although she wasn't totally impaired. She could tell where most people were by the noises of their boots or the sound of their babies crying, and she could usually tell if they were near an alley by the sharp clinking of knives hitting each other. She also knew if danger was lurking around them, because Sokka would subconsciously tug her closer to him, and his grip on her arm would tighten protectively. How sad, Toph thought absently as Sokka began to quicken their step and pull her away from some clinking sound, that her first time out of her kingdom had to be living in the slums of the Fire Nation.

Sometimes she would tell herself that she didn't like it here, that she wasn't supposed to enjoy living in the Fire Nation, but she realized that thought was a lie, simply make-believe, and while her friends continued to complain about everything about this place, Toph concluded she would be just fine walking through the streets of the slums, pretending she couldn't see, and make-believing the red of her cheeks was caused by the heat.


	19. Kataang: Love as an Art

**Love as an Art**

He writes her a poem.

It is a lovely little story of love, hate, and war (but mostly love) featuring those-two-people-who-sound-awfully-famaliar-but-just-can't-be-him-and-Katara, and how they face the obstacles and overcome the obstacles, and need each other as much as water and air. He makes it up on those long nights spent flying on Appa, were he has to stay up or else he'll feel so guilty for leaving Appa up alone, and the entire time there's a pang of loss because he knows he won't be able to dream of Katara that night, so he writes about her instead.

The verses come to him easily, and he has to repeat them to himself over and over until they make a mark in his memory, and he is able to recite the entire poem, stanza to stanza. Even if he finishes the poem on Appa, it is never really _done_ until supplies run low and Sokka directs the group to the market, where, making his _please, Katara, pretty please _face Aang can usually get a few coins out of her, and he waltzes off to buy a bottle of ink, some paper, (and because using a feather seems so un-monk-like, he finds a stick for writing with) and that night, when everyone is asleep, he writes down his thoughts, and they all flow together so well, he thinks this is the way things should be.

So he writes her a poem, and she reads it.

Funny thing about poetry, it often holds the heart and mind of the author wrapped in the words, and when it falls into the wrong hands, the results could lead to disaster. But Katara couldn't really be to blame, because when she was looking for food to fill Sokka's bottomless stomach, she knocked down Aang's bag and out fell a paper…with her name on it. It was only human nature for her to read the paper…

And so she does. And when she finishes, she cries, but only a little. The first are happy tears, because the writing was so beautiful, and the last are sad tears, because she knows she loves him back, but she doesn't know how to tell him, and she wants it to be special, like the poem.

The first three nights after she finds the paper, Katara is acting different. Aang and Sokka are worried, but Toph knows what's going on, for she felt the paper fall from Aang's bag, felt Katara pick it up and read it, felt Katara's heart race and knew what must have been on it. Those nights Katara isolated herself from the rest of the group, and tried to write, she really did try hard, but the verses took much to much thinking, and her stanzas were stiff and void of emotion, and she knows that she has a love for Aang, but has no love for writing, so she learns from her heart to follow it, and it says to her _show, show, show what you feel._

They are leaving the fifth night, so she has to work fast, and she sneaks out by the light of the moon into the forest and finds a clear spot were all the shrubs had died or been smashed earlier that day when Sokka fell out of that fruit tree and landed on his butt. She quickly pulls away all the weeds and smoothes the dirt with her flat palm, and then begins her carving. She pushes her finger through the dirt, then turns it, then pulls it until the lines meet together, and she starts again. She draws of a girl with fins and a boy with wings and them together, holding hands and facing the world and saving the world and falling in love until her hands are raw and the dirt cakes her fingers and hides in her cuts and under her fingernails.

And so it goes, she drew him a picture.

And right before she goes back to camp she works his name into the design, and a thanks for the poem, and she thinks those letters, _Aang_, make the picture so much better.

The next morning only Toph knew why Katara asked Aang to go to the big fruit tree out in the woods and pick some of the apples, and _yes, Sokka, Aang has to be the one to go._

Months have passed since that day since Katara sent Aang out into the woods, when he came back without any apples, but a huge smile on his face and a blush evident on his cheeks. Sokka supposes Aang and Katara are a bit of an "item" now, but he likes to pretend its all still like old times, and he makes them wait to get all mushy until he is gone. They never told him what Katara did to that tree that made everything happen, all he knows is that Aang still stays up late counting syllables and whispering rhymes to himself on Appa, and Katara spends much more time in the dirt.

When he asks Toph, she always smiles in her I-know-something-you-don't way, then tells him Aang and Katara just figured out that art is more than sketches and poetry.

Cause love can be art, too.

_**Note: **__Well, here's the thing, I hate this drabble. I think it's horrible, but it wouldn't let me sleep until I finished, and since I spent so much time with it, I decided to post it anyway._

_This was written about my intense love for drawing and writing, and me knowing that to be great at both, I have to choose between them. I'm starting to think, thanks to this drabble, that maybe I should give up on writing._


	20. Azula's Posse: Round Here

'_She walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land just like she's walking on a wire in the circus'_

_-Round Here,__Counting Crows_

**Round Here**

She twirls her braid and asks Azula if they could pretty please stop just this once, for only a little while, _I promise_, just to see the ocean. Azula asks her if she's crazy, and Mai just nods her head while Ty Lee says yes, _but just a bit_.

_But oh, the ocean looks so pretty! Just to get my feet a teensy wet, oh please, we've been walking forever!_ And because Azula herself is tired, and Mai is bored, and Ty Lee won't stop whining until they let her dip her feet in, they stop for the afternoon, and the war will have to wait for a while.

Mai lies in the sand, and Azula scolds her for not doing anything productive, but Mai stays transfixed on Ty Lee, and the ever changing tides. Shoes are off, eyes are closed and the acrobat makes her way, one foot in front of the other, across the shore, a smile on her face and a _hum, hum, hum _of the circus tune floating all around her.

Azula looks too, and momentarily forgets training. She forgets everything except for Ty Lee, and the way she walks like she's still in the circus, still just a kid. Just the image of the girl and the hum, hum, hum…

But only for a moment. She restarts her exercises and ignores the way Mai still sits in the sand and watches Ty Lee, ignores the lump in her throat and the guilt for not caring, but still listens to the hum, hum, hum.

Every time Azula looks at the waves, all she can see is the circus, and all she can hear is its tune.

Needless to say, no matter how much Ty Lee begged, they never stopped at the ocean again.

_**Note:**__ Don't ask, 'cause I really don't know._


	21. Aang: On the Back of a Flying Bison

**On the Back of a Flying Bison**

There was a crash and a splash, the water flowing up his nose and mouth and the feeling he was drowning. Panic rushed through him and he grabbed for Appa's reins, but the air was pushed out of him and his fear was swept away in the current and replaced with an unnerving calm.

There was silence. Complete and total silence for a very long while, then the whispers began. Voices of the past telling tales of the future- his future- while new voices recounted legends from long ago. An echo in his head, then his emotions swirled, the echo grew louder- hurt him.

He didn't know why, but something inside him was telling him to open his eyes, the voices chanting at him _"open them now, hurry, open them now"._

Katara calls it destiny, Sokka calls it luck, but Aang knows it's the something much bigger than that which caused him to open his eyes at the exact moment Katara saw him in the ice berg, leading her to realize he was alive and free him.

Katara tells him it was fate, planned out by some greater something a long time ago, that it was fate and love that opened his eyes. Sokka tells him science, luck that the sun was out and Aang somehow realized the change in lighting and opened his eyes.

Knowing events are set in stone scares Aang, but science doesn't explain the voices in his head, and for a while, Aang doesn't know who to believe. Then he decides the answer is somewhere in between his two friends, like he is.

And as he opens his eyes and looks at the bickering Water Tribe siblings, Aang thinks he's so _**lucky **_that _**fate **_was kind, and he has _**love **_and _**science**_ right here with him, on the back of a flying bison.

_**Note:**__ Again, I have no idea…_

_Written a loooong time ago about the diffrence between me and my brother, and my never ending quest to pull him away from science and his atheist ways..._

_Review if you fancy._


	22. Kataang: He Doesn't Know

He doesn't know how she does it.

She gets the needle and the thread and starts up a stitch, and before you know it her eyes are closed and her fingers tell the story because and she's weaving cloth, but it looks more like water with the way it flows and moves at her command, and she does it so swiftly she's either memorized the pattern or is making it up as she goes.

He doesn't know how she does it.

She has barely any ingredients to work with, but the way she cooks the meals makes it taste like she's top chef in Ba Sing Se, with all the staff and spices in the world. On the rare occasion they find themselves invited to a kind person's house for a home-cook meal he eats his fill, but his stomach keeps a rotten empty feeling until he tastes _her_ food again.

He doesn't know how she does it.

She meets a hurting child and all that is needed is one smile from her, and all wounds are healed. She has an amazing way with children, and the ability to soothe any wounded soul without even lifting her finger, but she goes out of her way to give the extra comforts, anyway.

And there came the day when he finally asks her how she does it, all these amazing things, how and why she is always there for him if he needs clothes to be mended, if he needs food for his hunger-pained stomach, if he needs comfort or to be healed or just to talk to someone.

And she smiles at him like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and tells him _"Because I love you"_, before she heads off in the opposite direction to sew or start dinner or something.

And Aang sits there and lets everything sink in, that Katara, a beautiful girl who could have any man she wanted, chose to mend and feed and love the _Avatar_, even though they can never be together.

He doesn't know how she does it.


	23. Ty Lee: Enemy

**Enemy**

Ty Lee has a hard time figuring out who the enemy really is.

When she looks at the Avatar, Ty Lee sees a child. A bald little monk with eyes like Ty Lee, and her attitude, and her smile. When Ty Lee looks at the Avatar, she sees herself.

When she looks at that Waterbender, Ty Lee sees a mother and a sister and a lover. A pretty young girl with a braid like Ty Lee, and her grace, and her maternal instinct. When Ty Lee looks at the Waterbender, she sees herself.

When she looks at the Warrior, Ty Lee sees a protector. A man with a handsome face, and a big heart like Ty Lee, and her sense of humor, and her flirtatious nature. When Ty Lee looks at the Warrior, she sees herself.

When she looks at the blind Earthbender, Ty Lee sees a girl with talent. She sees a lost child who ran away from home just like Ty Lee, and her passion, and her vulnerability. When Ty Lee looks at the blind Earthbender, she sees herself.

But when she looks at Azula all Ty Lee can see is lighting and a blood-red aura, and when looks at her own reflection, all she sees is the enemy.

_**Note: **I know! Ty Lee angst!__ Cause Ty Lee doesn't really fit in anywhere, and I can totally picture her talking in third person._


	24. Aang: Struck Down

**Struck Down**

It wasn't until he was about to die did he realize it.

Laying there on the floor of the Temple he kind of chuckled at the thought, until the laughing sent pain shooting through his chest and erupting in his stomach. Aang had given up any hope of getting up off the floor a few hours ago, his long-lived body getting the best of him.

So he curled up on the floor, a desperate attempt at numbing the pain of whatever was happening to him and, taking slow deep breaths, remembered his friends to pass the time.

There was Katara, his best friend. _Yes_, he says, (not sure if he's speaking aloud or not) he had been so very sad when she died. He remembered it clearly; the thought never really left him, of the final battle when he had stumbled out after defeating the late Fire Lord, tattered and torn, and expecting to fall into warm arms.

Instead he had found Katara standing on the palace steps, and when she turned to him, he noticed she was crying. Her eyes were tortured, knowing, and much, much older than her fourteen years.

"_I need some peace, Aang" _she had said, sweeping an arm across the bloody battle still raging behind her, _"We all do…"_

And if the fighting always stopped after the leader was struck down, they wouldn't have found her that night with an arrow through her heart.

Back in the present Aang's stomach lurches painfully, and he suspects it had something to do with the tears that pooled around him. So much for the Airbenders, he says, smiling at cruel fate.

He also remembers Toph, for he was there when she was diagnosed, and he cried with her when she told them how she only had a year left to live.

Never one to let disability or sickness bring her down she had said her only regret was that she wouldn't be there to watch as her tale circulated round the world when she became a legend. This earned a few laughs; it was such a Toph thing to say.

He recalls, with a mixed bit of sympathy and pride, the moment she had walked up to him, pretending not to be scared and trying to seem in-control, and told him _"I think I'll die today."_

Back in reality Aang laughs a little louder than necessary, and puts all his being into focusing on remembering Sokka. The two had found it hard to speak after Katara's death, and after Toph died they lost touch altogether. As hard as Aang tried, stretched out on the floor, he could not remember if Sokka was still alive or not.

"_I hope he's doing well" _Aang thinks, as the pain subsides and he surrenders himself to death.

Perhaps it is best if his friends didn't think of him; it would cause them less pain. Aang could remember, but he hoped his friends would not.

And as Aang felt his life slipping away, he realized he didn't have to busy himself with sad thoughts of his friends to pass the time any longer, it was his time to leave, and he was ready.

He was ready to stop being the Avatar and start being Aang, for the Avatar's life is filled with pain and misery, and he was a more than relived it was over, and that he had done it, and lived as the Avatar and lived through the battles and the sickness and his time to die was in his own hands, and not in the hands of the enemy.

And it wasn't until he was about to die did he realize it.

The Avatar didn't get a break, the Avatar was reincarnated, and after he lived his lives, he was sent to live the next one. No matter how many battles he fought, there would always be another one, not matter how many friends he had lost, there would always be more to loose, no matter how many painful lives of being the Avatar he had to suffer through, there would always be thousands more waiting.

And at the last second he cried out,-a sorrowful cry- for all the memories of friends that would soon be forgotten, for all the wounds he had to endure, for all the nights and days of being _Aang_, and for being Aang one last time before the world turned to black and he woke up as someone else's child.

They say if he hadn't been so busy talking to himself, Avatar Aang might have realized he was breathing in the poison gas those Fire Nation Rebels had planted before it was too late.

_**Note:**__ I know, depressing, confusing, and Aang ooc-ness, but come one, the kid's friends die and he goes crazy._

_I had a bunch of ideas floating around in my head, so I made them one drabble, and it came out kinda bitter._

**Founding member of the Aang Fangirl Squad (AFS)**

**Member of the Aang Fangirl Squad: Kumori Doragon, libowiekitty, and Aechigo. **

**- - - - **

**Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, Snows of Yester-Year, La Vixen de Amor, chocolatecoveredbananacheese, Aangy, and honorary member SnakeEyes16**


	25. Kataang: And After That

And after that, when he saw her things were different.

It seemed like forever ago he got hit in the back by lightning. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks it was all a dream, until he moves and the black spot on his back throbs, telling him it was for real.

Its nights like these, when he's doubting reality and himself, he crawls over to where Katara lays by her brother, and pokes her awake.

When Katara feels Aang prodding her, she wills herself awake and folds her arms around him, for she knows what this midnight visit is about, as it has been happening for weeks now.

And after the lightning, when she holds him things are different.

He still loves the feel of her arms around him, but it no longer sends butterflies through his stomach. Now it makes him feel like he's finally _safe_, like when he was little, and his mother held him and sang him to sleep.

But, sometimes this isn't enough. Sometimes Aang can remember little bits of how he used to feel about Katara before Azula's attack. Whenever he catches a fleeting memory of this wonderful feeling, he'll stare at Katara long and hard, just like he used to, and if she catches his eye and looks back at him that hole in his back hurts so bad it's as if he was struck all over again.

And so this is how life went, for a very long while until Aang slipped on some of Appa's fur one day and lost his balance, headed straight for the ground. He would've airbended himself back up, if Katara hadn't caught him first.

He hadn't been expecting it, so it really wasn't his fault he ended up crashing into her, their foreheads knocking and mouths colliding.

He still isn't sure that smashing into Katara could count as a kiss, but whatever you call it, his lips were up against hers and he felt his mind snapping, like a crack in the ice or a lamp broken in half. His thoughts were blurred and dismissed, and his emotions took over, and the familiar warm feeling in his chest was spread on thick like butter.

Suddenly, Katara and his mother were in two very different categories.

And she'll still hold him after a nightmare, and pick him up when he falls down, and keep him safe whenever she can.

But after that, when he watches her, his back doesn't hurt anymore, and neither does his heart.

_**Note:**__ This was written for the whole "Aang has to give up Katara" bit. But mostly, it was written because I always wanted to start a story with "And" simply for the joy of breaking grammatical rules. Take that, English language!_

_And, yes, Invaderk, that little "lamp broken in half" was for your amusement, consider it a thanks for picking me up out of the dumps, and helping me get to a slightly less-dumpy place._

_I hate lamps, especially ones that break easily._


	26. Katara: Blue

**Blue**

She was emotionless before battle.

Katara wasn't supportive like Aang thought she would be. She didn't make an effort to tell him everything would be alright, or that she believed in him, or that no matter what happened he would always be the winner in her eyes. She didn't say _anything _at all.

Katara wasn't scared like Toph thought she would be. She didn't pace Appa's saddle, or needlessly sew Sokka's pants to busy herself and take her mind off things, or worry and doubt every little detail in the plan they had made. She didn't _do_ anything at all.

Katara wasn't sad like Sokka thought she would be. She didn't cry over the future, or reminisce with sobs moments of the group's past, or hold Aang extra tight like she normally did on her bad days. In fact, Sokka thought his sister felt nothing at _all._

And although Katara didn't _feel_, she _thought _long and hard. She sat on the edge of Appa's saddle; like she knew something the others did not, and stared out into the ocean and focused on one thing and one thing only…

_Blue._ Blue and the color of her tribe, the color of her Gran-Gran and her Papa and Mama. The blue-black of the ocean at night –_like the color of Toph's hair_- and the blue of Yue's pale moon in the midnight sky, and the sharp blue glare of the never-ending light on the ice –_like the color of Sokka's sharp warrior eyes-_ and the soft blue of her parka and her thread and the glowing-healing blue of her hands.

The blue of the pitter-patter of raindrops and the claps of the thunderstorms, and the vibrant, full-of-life blue from clear nights when it would paint the sky it's moving, living, breathing blue during the arora australis –_like the color of Aang's tattoos- _. And the blue of the water, _her_ water, her beautiful element given to her by the moon and the ocean, and the blue of her talent and her training and her teaching and her water and her _life._

Somewhere along the course of that day of black sun, Katara lost sight of Toph and her hair, and Sokka and his eyes, and Aang and his tattoos, and she was left to fight the battle alone because she left her family and her thread and her parka and the cool breezy blue of home for this crimson blood war.

And when her water- the only bit of blue she has left- runs out, she is forced to take extreme measures and bend the pools of blood around her out of defense, and she knows that the blood is a liquid, and there is water somewhere in there, but she feels as though her life is over, right then and there, because of the color of the Fire Nation's army and the color of the burnt flesh and the color of the blood she's bending and everything around her is just so _red_.

If the crowd hadn't moved at that exact time, at the perfect angle, then she probably would've died, too. But the crowd did move, and she caught sight of Aang, and yes, his tattoos were blue, but that's not the blue that sucked her breath right out of her.

It was the hurt on his face, the depression she sent him into, his deeply broken innocence, as severed as the bodies that littered the ground. It was the blueness- the sadness she had sent him into by bending the blood of fallen soldiers, that was what hit her in the gut. It was the blue of his heart, the blue of his tears that made her feel so unclean-so horrible and dirty and unworthy. And suddenly Katara didn't know what was worse, the blue of Aang's pain, or the red blood that swam all around her.

_**Note:**__ I my gosh, I don't know where this came from! It's so sad, it makes me want to jump off a bridge or something! I swear I am a very happy person, I just had to write something sad because I had been working tirelessly on my newest oneshot, and it was just so happy, and I was listening to the sad song "Shadowland" from the Lion King musical, and it made me want to write something sad. Sorry, you guys._

_My friend and I were trying to figure out what to call this, and she was like how about Red v.s. Blue, which sent my brother into mad fits of laughter, seeing as how he loves that show._

_I know, this story was so prosey it was annoying, and when I read it, it sounds kind of forced and like I was trying to hard, but hey, what can you do._

_Review if you liked it, if you didn't…then I'm sorry, my happy one-shot should be here soon! _


	27. Sokka: Aurora Australis

**Aurora Australis**

During the months close to the equinox, the tribe is on edge.

Sokka is only nine the first time it happens, but the sight presses itself to him, and the images stay with him long into his old age.

His mother had died a few months prior, along with many other good men and women, and even a few children, all at the hands of the Fire Nation. Perhaps that was the reason the old healers predicted this was to be the year.

The year when the Spirits took to the skies. The year of the Southern Lights.

_The storm will come in the months close to the equinox,_ the old medicine woman had said, _so be prepared, and keep watch._

The medicine woman died a few days later.

But, the tribe took to her advice, and they kept elite warriors outside at all hours of the day, skimming the horizon for a hint of the geomagnetic storm that would ignite the lights. Day after day, night after night, the warriors came back with nothing interesting in their reports, save some steam off in the distance, possibly coming from a Fire Navy ship.

Sokka wasn't positive, but he had heard somewhere that the lights meant the bridge to the sky had been opened, and all of the Spirits of those who had died in recent attacks where finally able to free themselves from the binds of the Arctic land, and escape to the skies to mingle with the stars and pull the ocean's tides alongside the moon.

The thought sat heavy on Sokka's heart, because, although he knew if the lights came his mother's spirit would be happy and free up in the skies, the young boy was sure _he'd_ be happier if his mother's spirit stayed bounded to the Arctic, with him.

But, thanks to his baby sister, it happened. There was some kind of sibling pride that welled up in him when Sokka found out that it was _his_ little Katara that, despite orders to remain close to camp, had wandered out into the far regions of ice (something she did often after the attack) and saw the storm coming, then rushed back and told the village before any of the group of elite watchmen knew what was going on.

That night, ceremonious head-dresses were donned, and many of the old music men brought whale-skin drums, and every family member brought something of their deceased loved-one's to throw into the ocean, so that their spirit may be at peace in the water, an free in the sky with the moon and the lights.

Sokka reluctantly followed his dad, holding Katara's hand. In Hakoda's hands rested a tiny music box, it had been his wife's favorite present she ever received, and Sokka clutched her old comb she had used on his and Katara's hair.

They arrived at the glacier Katara had told the village about at dusk, and the colors were already starting to light up the sky. One of the elders took this opportunity to say a few words and recount a few legends about the Southern Lights, though no one really listened.

Some people were crying, others were grinning, and Sokka watched as groups of people walked over toward the edge of the ice and tossed their items below. His father began making his way to the water, and Sokka belatedly realized he should follow. He reached around to tug Katara along, but found no one there.

Panic shot through him and he whipped around, just in time to see a shadow disappear behind the snow. Taking one last glace back in his father's direction, Sokka took off after his sister.

She was only eight, far from the graceful girl she would grow into, and Sokka found it increasingly easy to track her clumsy stumbles in the snow. Not even a minute after he started following her, he came across her tiny body hunched by the water's edge, watching the waves crash against the ice far below.

As he came closer he could see her shaking as she stared at two unidentifiable objects in her hands. When Katara heard Sokka's footsteps behind her she turned around, and with the way the colored Southern Lights played off her face, Sokka momentarily thought _'Mom'._

But then the elegant tears that fell down her face lost their luster, and melted into fat glossy ones of an innocent little girl (no longer Mom, just Katara) and her face crumpled up with her sadness, and suddenly Sokka wished those lights would go out so he didn't have to see her this way.

"Aw- come on Katara, why are you crying?"

Her hands shook as she held up the two items in her hands. One was a beautiful necklace –he instantly recognized it as his mother's- and the other was a worn hair clip with paints chipping off, and the moon carefully carved into one side. "I know we're only allowed to throw one thing for one loved person, but I can't decide which to throw."

Sokka knelt down to her level and smiled softly, his sister could be so silly at times. He gently took the hair clip from her hand and held it up to his face –he couldn't remember Mom wearing it- then gave it back to Katara. "Well, it shouldn't matter, right? I mean, either way Mom's spirit will be free."

Katara's eyes went wide and she did a very good impression of a gasping fish before her eyes clouded over and she began to sob again. Sokka sat patiently and let her finish crying.

"That's just it Sokka!" she managed to say between hiccups "T-this isn't Mama's clip-p. It's Healer Kala's."

Sokka stopped breathing, and the drum-beets and singing he once heard clearly now seemed very far away. His baby sister had Healer Kala's clip, and Healer Kala died a few weeks earlier. Thing started coming together in Sokka's mind, and he realized Katara had taken the old woman's clip before her hut had been cleared, because Kala had no other family.

"And if I don't t-throw her clip in the water, then nobody will!" At this Katara clutched the clip very close to her heart (Sokka knew how much Katara had loved Healer Kala, she was the only woman water-bender left, and now she was gone). "But, if I don't throw Mama's necklace, then it m-means I don't love her." Katara let out a shuddery breath, and her face twisted up as if she was going to cry again, but she held back.

Sokka was quiet for a moment, and then he pulled out his mother's comb he hadn't yet thrown in. He set the comb in the snow, and took the necklace form Katara's hand and fastened it around her neck. Sokka bowed to the clip, then wrapped it safely in Katara's fingers and nudged her toward the water.

"Go on, set Kala free."

Katara looked scared for half a second, then her face hardened, and in the lights all Sokka could see was his mother's face on his sister's body, the same face she gave them before guiding them to safety and dieing for her children.

And Katara kissed the hair ornament right on that little moon, and tossed it into the water.

The white comb matched the snow beautifully, but Sokka picked it up anyway, and handed one end to Katara.

"On the count of three, we throw it in together."

Katara nodded.

"One"

Katara looked at Sokka, worried.

"Two"

Sokka realized he had started to cry.

"Three"

They threw the comb so hard it flew straight to the sky and was lost in the Lights.

"Oh" Katara said, as she fell back into the snow, eyes glued to the sky. "Sokka, look! There they go."

Sokka plopped down next to her, and through his bleary-eyed tears he could swear he saw all the spirits lifting. Yes, there was his buddy Tack, and Bato's son Cade, and that man who raised all those tiger-wolfs, and that pretty little girl that stole his heart away at age five…

And right above them, separated from the other spirits, two women walked along a vivid blue strand of light. One was still quite young and beautiful, holding a small box under one arm, and the arm other holding a comb, and working through the second woman's hair.

The second woman, however, was hardly a woman at all. She was old and crinkled, brown skin rough like leather and magic-healer's hands. She had no family left, only one little girl who loved her deeply, and a little boy who always wanted everyone to be happy.

"Do you see them up there, Katara? Do you see Healer Kala, she's smiling right at you, and mom is so very proud. Quick, Katara tell them you love them, before they disappear to the moon."

And over his baby sister's sobbing calls, Sokka hears the music loud and clear. It seems Mom opened that old music box, and the drummers and singers here on earth were playing along…

"_Hush, now, I see a light in the sky_

_Oh, it's almost blinding me, _

_I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love"_

"You hear that, Katara?" Brother pulls sister close, and tucks her head to his chest so she can't see his tears. "Yeah, they say they love you, too."


	28. Aang: Trust

**Trust**

"I just don't get it, Sokka!" Katara sat down in the dirt and ungracefully flopped back in exasperation. Still lying with her back to the ground, the Waterbender turned her head, cheek in the dirt, to stare at Aang.

"You're going to hurt yourself" Sokka stated lamely, not paying full attention. They had only just begun traveling with Aang ('before we head to the North Pole we have to ride the _elephant coy'_, he tells them, and Sokka rolls his eyes.) but Sokka was already unsettled by the large amounts of time Katara spent worrying about the kid. "Seriously, Katara, if he catches you staring at him it'll only creep him out."

"But really, Sokka, think off all the stress he must be under! The Spirits are cruel beings to make such an innocent, sweet boy the _Avatar_." Katara tore her gaze from Aang and closed her eyes in a dramatic gesture of the pain she felt for him. "It just breaks my heart."

"Really now" Sokka stated dryly, indicating with a swift nod of his head to Aang, who sat by Appa and was engaging in some sort of guessing game with Momo. "'Cause it doesn't seem to bother him"

Katara looked at Aang once again, this time sitting up and not bothering to dust off her hair. "That's because he's so young. He probably doesn't even understand what's going on. Either that or he just handles it so wonderfully we don't even notice his turmoil…"

"Do you think we could not talk about how wonderful Aang is, just this once? Being my manly self it gets pretty weird to talk about other guys-"

"Sokka!"

"Yeah?"

"Shut-up"

Sokka opened his mouth to say something –he was seriously considering some nasty, hurtful things- but stopped on the better knowledge that Katara was only this curt with him when things were very wrong.

"Oh, come on, baby sister" Sokka chose his words carefully to show he was serious. "You've been going on and on about how young and innocent Aang is, and you didn't even realize you answered your own question."

Met with a blank stare, Sokka continued. "Look at him over there, he's so oblivious playing with that tasty little critter (Momo, Katara reminded him). Did you ever stop to think maybe that's _why_ the Spirits picked him to be the Avatar? Because he isn't a power hungry war God, he's just an innocent little kid."

Katara was silent for the longest time while she let what her brother said sink in. It made perfect sense, but it still didn't seem right.

"But Sokka," she whined, "We're talking about everything here! All of everything depends on Aang, the whole entire _world_!"

Seeing Katara looking at him, Aang walked up to the group, a light-hearted grin plastered to his face.

"Well," Sokka said, turning to his sister, "Would you trust it to anyone else?"

Aang looked confused. "Trust what, Sokka?"

"Nothing, kid… or everything, whichever you prefer."

Aang sent a strange look to Katara, but she was to busy smiling to notice.

_**Note:**__ Ah, random dialogue. Takes place between episodes three and four._


	29. Zhao: Playtime

**Playtime**

It must have started when he was just a child… yes, young Zhao found his hobby, as most people do, during the impressionable years of his childhood.

There was a particular moment he could pinpoint, if he thought hard enough, with a bit of difficulty, but he could remember it all the same.

His father was valiantly attempting to get into Fire Lord Azulon's good graces, so he had uprooted their family from their relaxed country-side estate and moved them into the heart of the Fire Nation when he took an offer for a position in Azulon's council.

Zhao wasn't exactly thrilled about the move (after all, he would miss the wonderful service he got at the old estate), but his father warned him time and time again to remain on his best behavior. Father said if Zhao could make friends with Prince Iroh and Prince Ozi then they would have everything going for them –whatever that meant- and Zhao himself was a little excited (and terrified) at the prospect.

He had never had friends before.

And boy was he missing out. Zhao had always been forced to sit with the grown-ups, and the only physical exercise he ever got was from firebending lessons. But here in this palace children were not allowed to sit with the grown-ups, and sent outside to play.

_Play_. Zhao liked the sound of that. As all the children were ushered outside to the gardens, Zhao kept a keen eye out for the two children his father had pointed out to him, the children he was supposed to make friends with –Azulon's children-.

The kids started to run around after that –run around for the _fun_ of it, not because they had to- and in the midst of the confusion, Zhao heard shouts, shouts of the names of Azulon's kids, and so he made his way toward them.

"Hey, Iroh, you'd better get over here quick!"

"Yeah Iroh, he's at it again!"

And with that the boys and girls started to form a circle (neater than any circle his firebending class would have formed) around two boys, and Zhao weaseled his way through the crowd to see what the commotion was all about.

Zhao immediately recognized the scrawnier of the two boys as Prince Ozi. Never the less, the boys were standing across from each other tossing insults back and forth.

"When I'm Fire Lord, it's to the noose with you!"

"Oh yeah, well I won't have to worry 'cause Iroh's gonna be the Fire Lord, not you!"

"Well, I never really liked your sister anyway! (_So that's what the fight is about_, Zhao realized, _they're fighting because this boy thinks Ozi's sweet on his sister_.) That Ursa is a hair-brained little snot-head!"

"Why you _little…_"

And that's how the actual fighting began.

Who threw the first punch, Zhao was never quite sure, and who exactly was the one to shoot that hot fire blast slipped his mind altogether, and Zhao was never able to recall at what moment Iroh pulled Ozi off the other boy, but the image of the boys laying there, cut and bruised and _bleeding_, was burned into his mind forever.

"_So this is what it's like to have friends…"_ Zhao thought absently, before a smile twisted its way across his face, and he knew he liked playtime best out of any other part of the day.

And Zhao had found his hobby- blood. He was always at the scene of a fight to take in all the damage with wide-eyed excitement, enjoying the punches and flames and the _play_, all this wondrous playtime.

And as he grew older he realized to truly be happy, there were only two honorable career options for him.

A doctor, or a soldier in war.

Of course, his mother wanted him to become a successful doctor, helping the wounded instead of being one of them, and his father wanted him to become a successful war general, out there fighting instead of tending to those who had fought.

So in the end, the choice was entirely his.

He could save, or he could kill. But Zhao didn't see it that way at all. The way he saw things, saving lives or ending them wasn't even in the picture.

All he saw was work and play.

And we all know how much Zhao loved playtime.

_**Note:**__ Whoo! Go evilness! So, I thought up this little Zhao one-shot when I nicked myself shaving and I started to bleed (I know, I'm freaky like that). I figured Zhao liked blood, so I wrote him his very own little story, even though he's dead._

_I know it sounds kind of strange, but that's because I was trying to make it all formal and stuff because it's kind of a trip back into Zhao's past, and he's one formal dude._

_That little Ozi Ursa part in there was simply for my enjoyment, because he didn't seem to treat her with respect, so the image of him calling her a "Hair-brained little snot-head" was too wonderful for me to pass up. _

_Thanks so much for reading (sorry for any grammatical errors, it's late at night -or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it- and both my beta and my goldfishie bailed on me) and please review!_


	30. Aang: Foamtara?

**Foamtara?**

Katara burst into the room, tears rolling down her face. She made it halfway to the window before Aang whipped around and saw her collapse on the ground.

And there she lay, on the floor, shaking as her tears soaked into the dry wood.

Aang was by her side in an instant, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder and trying to coax her into a sitting position.

"Katara, what's going on? Why are you crying?"

--

The gang had a small amount of precious time to let Aang heal, and after the horrid attack in Ba Sing Se it was agreed Kyoshi Island was the best place to spend that time. Toph was interested in speaking with these girl-power Kyoshi warriors, and Sokka was desperate to find out if anyone on the Island had information related to Suki, and whether or not she was alright.

And as for Aang, he was just happy to be getting some down time.

During the long ride on Appa Katara hovered over Aang's every movement, and all expected her to stay by Aang's side during their visit. That might have been why Sokka was so surprised when Katara asked him to bring Aang to their temporary home while she 'thanked the public' shortly after they landed.

--

Katara sniffed and allowed Aang to pull her up until she was resting comfortably with her head on the curve of his neck. They stayed like that for a while, Aang slowly rocking back and forth and holding her, wondering why she was so upset and momentarily stopping to think of how just a few nights earlier she had cradled him this was as he sobbed over his failure.

He hoped she wasn't hurting as bad as he was.

--

Sokka dismissed Katara's strange behavior as lack of sleep, and brought Aang to the room as told. That night Katara didn't come back for a long time, but it wasn't until Aang started crying out for her in his sleep that Sokka went out to look.

Right as he stepped over Toph's sleeping form (after much persuasion Sokka had convinced her to sleep inside like other _normal_ people) Katara burst in through the door, and Sokka had to resist the urge to yell.

After inquiring her as to _where_ exactly she had been _all_ night long while Sokka had the wonderful task of watching over a certain Airbender who wanted nothing to do with anyone whose name wasn't 'Katara', he was met with a dismissive flick of a wrist and the pathetic excuse of _'just out, you know… mingling' _.

Sokka sighed and watched Katara drape an arm around Aang hushing him, and the Warrior, without a second thought, returned to his mat for some sleep.

--

As Aang rocked her back and forth Katara started to calm down, and was even getting a little sleepy, seeing as how she had been out 'mingling' for the past few nights instead of sleeping.

And right as she was about to surrender to slumber she realized _exactly_ who was holding her, and her head shot up and her hands flew to Aang's chest to push him roughly away.

"What?!" Aang asked, a little louder than he intended as Katara shoved him to the ground. He wasn't sure if he was asking what he did to make her push him, or what her problem was, or what was going on that had him so confused.

"It's all your fault!" she screeched, standing up and rushing to the window. Katara sat down and gripped the window sill until she could feel the splinters sliding under her nails, but no matter how many times Aang called to her she refused to turn around and confide in him, suddenly embarrassed by her tears.

"Katara!" Aang yelled, his patience wearing. "Come on; please just tell me what's going on. One minute you're crying on my shoulder, and the next you're blaming me for something that I don't even know I did!"

A silence followed. Aang knew Katara was looking at the moon, but he also knew she was only using it as an excuse to keep her back to him. Finally she whispered "I wish you weren't the Avatar."

Aang knew that he was close to tears now, too. "Yeah," he muttered. "Me too."

This seemed to anger Katara, how dare Aang pity himself when he was the cause of her pain! She turned around; blue eyes alight with fury and spoke in a dangerously low voice. "You don't know the half of it!"

Aang was so confused! "Half of what?" he mumbled, not sure if she were speaking about him being the Avatar, or that thing she blamed him for that he wasn't sure he did. "I know way more than you about being the Avatar… and if you weren't talking about that then…. I would know if you would just tell me!" Aang's eyes softened and he advanced toward her, outstretching an arm as invitation. "Please, Katara. Just tell me."

She looked at him for a long time, almost like she was studying him, then she finally sunk down to her knees, ignoring his outstretched hand but at least not yelling.

"It's about Foamy."

"Foamy?" Aang asked, scrunching his nose in confusion and a little disgust.

"Yes, Foamy." Katara snapped, pausing a minute before continuing as if daring him to make some snide comment. "The first time we came to Kyoshi…" she sighed dreamily "well, that was the first time I met him."

Aang looked at Katara strangely.

"Hey, you were all busy will _Koko_; I had to find someone to hang out with."

Aang nodded, not sure he liked where this was going.

"And I got to liking him… and then on Avatar day when Sokka and I went back to get some information on Avatar Kyoshi… I saw him again." Katara paused, and looked like she might start crying again. "He didn't want to send me off to war, but I told him it was my duty. Then, he promised he would wait for me. I-I should've known…"

Aang was mortified. Katara liked that… that Foamy man? How old was he? How _weird _was he?

In between his thoughts of shock and heartbreak he realized Katara was waiting for him to respond. "Known w-what?" Aang asked, suddenly afraid of what Katara might say.

The same fire that had overtaken her earlier was evident in her eyes again, and she had to clench her fists to keep from doing something rash. "He used me…" Katara raged through her teeth "He used me to get to you!"

"ME!?!"

And sometimes life throws you a curveball.

Katara began screaming and crying. "HE PRETENDED TO LOVE ME BEAUSE I KNEW THE AVATAR!"

"Katara, calm down! Please calm down!"

--

Katara had been cleaning up from dinner when she first heard Aang's cries.

Setting down the dishes she rushed into the living area to find Aang tossing and turning on the couch and screaming for her to calm down.

Shaking him awake she told him that, yes, Aang, she was calm, and that he was the one who was having a bad dream and needed to calm down.

Aang finally opened his eyes from his nightmare to find Katara standing over him, covered in foam.

"Wha- how… Why is there foam all over you?!"

"Oh" Katara said, looking down at her dress and realizing soapy foam lined her arms and a good portion of her clothing. "I must have gotten a little messy when I was doing the-"

It was at that moment Aang began to scream uncontrollably, and it took about thirty minutes, Sokka as the witness and Toph threatening to 'earthbend his ass off' for him to believe that Katara got messy while doing the _dishes_, not the Foamy guy.

_**Note: **__Lol, this is for Invaderk, because she introduced Foamtara to me, and I said I would write a story about it._

_Don't worry; the whole Foamy part was just Aang's horrible, horrible nightmare._


	31. Sokka: He lived in the Cold

He lived in the cold.

Sokka was a strong boy, and he was able to overcome the hardest of times; in fact, _he did_.

So much happened to him, and he can still remember those times he stood on the glaciers and looked out over the ocean and wished to the moon that he was never born.

He remembers being sad before the Fire Nation raid, but all of it seems so babyish now. When his father would scold him, when an older boy pushed him down too hard, when the other girls teased his sister for being weird, he always hurt, but not like this.

Nine. He was nine years old when he became a man. It happened the exact moment his mother died, and he pulled Katara away from the body while she screamed.

'_Mama!' _she would cry, _'Mama'_.

It took him all of his strength right there to grab Katara by the shoulders and shake her, yelling that Mama was gone, and that body was nothing but a empty shell, '_so you had better stop your screaming before we end up like that!'_.

Sokka knows now that ignorance is bliss; and once you loose it, it never comes back.

But he was strong, and he knew the cold well, and he took his baby sister and hid her from the fighting, and in time they began to heal.

Then Dad left for the war; Dad and all his other friends, and Sokka was left behind with his sister. But he lived, and he trained for the war to keep his village safe, and when the boomerang cut his hands he noticed it didn't hurt nearly as much.

And things were good for a real long time. They found Aang and traveled all around the world, and it wasn't until they reached the icy North Pole that disaster struck again.

The cold seemed to have this effect on him.

Sokka still remembers Yue, and the way she died so sure of herself; almost like she gave up living a long time ago. Sokka can relate.

So much has happened since then, sometimes this damned war gets in his head and Sokka marvels at the damage that's been done. Other than that, he tries not to think about it.

Maybe that's why when word of Suki's death finally reaches them (weeks after it happened) Sokka doesn't acknowledge it, and when Katara confronts him about it he claims he never knew someone by the name of Suki, and he really doesn't understand why everyone is so sad.

Everyone is especially kind to Sokka after that, but he ignores it like everything else.

And now, instead of living in the cold, Sokka finds that the cold lives in him.

But he sits in his tent, many years after all of these happenings and tells his story (the story of the free world) to the children and grandchildren; none of which belong to him. The children of his village are gracious, and continue to come to his lap for stories of war and battles; of love lost and won just to be lost again; of pain and coldness so intense he couldn't feel his own fingers or toes or his heart.

And the favorite tale of the village: that moment during the Day of Black Sun when Aang won the world, and Sokka saw the end of war, and the pain and the cold went away, and he laughed at the memories of him wishing he was never born.


	32. Smellerbee: Remember

Smellerbee can still remember when she joined the freedom fighters. She can still remember the look on her brother's face as he pushed her toward the trees, yelling _"Go, get out of here and hide in the forest!"_ and if she closes her eyes tight she can still see the smoke from her village filling the sky.

She knows now that the forest she ran into wasn't just _any _forest, oh no, it was the Freedom Fighter's forest.

It was Jet's.

Smellerbee remembers running for a very long time, then falling and crying and eventually sleeping. She can remember waking to see the light and a boy a few years older than herself.

"_I'm Jet"_ he had told her. _"Where's your family?"_

"_Dead."_ she remembers saying, though she had been trying to convince herself that perhaps her family had lived.

"_Us too."_

It was only then did she notice the other boy beside Jet. He was tall and pale, and his face was hard as stone.

"_This here's Longshot, he's an archer."_

"_Oh, okay."_ She had replied, though she was too young to know what an archer was, and could really care less at the moment.

Jet smiled at her. _"We'll call you Smellerbee, and you can live with us."_

The little lost, confused girl had nodded unaware of the commitment she had just made, or why she had to change her name. Jet did always have that air of assertiveness about him –the kind that made him steal little girls from death and have them promise their lives to fighting.

It was no wonder she felt safer with Longshot.

-- -- --

Smellerbee can remember seeing the tree house for the first time. It was small, and stretched across two trees. Thick wooden boards stuck out of the tree trunks (_"For climbing"_ Jet tells them) and the platform was rather high, and just big enough for the three of them to sleep on.

"_We'll build more and more"_ Jet says, throwing his arms up _"and one day it'll be as big as the entire forest! You'll see… they'll all see."_

Smellerbee remembers that day Jet talked a lot, and Longshot didn't talk at all, but it wasn't like she was listening, anyway. She remembers Jet talking about his plans for the future, and how to get even with the Fire Nation, and what happened to his family. Then she remembers how they all climbed up those thick wooden boards to the platform and lay down together.

"_I always wanted a tree house." _Smellerbee had whispered.

"_This isn't just a tree house kiddo,"_ Jet replied, messing with her long tangled hair, _"It's our fortress."_

A long silence followed, and Longshot must have noticed her shivering because he draped an arm around her and said _"Its okay, you're safe with us."_

Smellerbee had never doubted it in the first place.

-- -- --

Smellerbee remembers when she became a boy. Jet told Longshot to take her out into the forest and cut off her beautiful hair, and cover up her girlish freckles and rosy cheeks.

"_Can't have a girl getting in the way now, can we?"_ Jet had told them as they walked off, but Smellerbee didn't see what difference cutting her hair and painting her face would make to her fighting.

Longshot had set her down by a stream and pulled out a dagger, placing it beside him. Then he tied her hair up with a strip of leather and, with one swift cut of the dagger, chopped off the entire bun, leaving her with a bowl cut about the length of Jet's, and some dorky looking bangs. (Smellerbee was too busy mourning the loss of her hair to notice when Longshot slipped a lock in his pocket.)

All the while she had been mashing berries together to form some kind of a red paste. When Longshot was ready he dipped his fingers in and rolled them across Smellerbee's cheeks.

"_I like the way that feels." _She had told him.

"_What? The paint?"_

"_Um… yeah. The paint."_

Mashed up berries hides girlish thinks like freckles and beauty marks and blushing cheeks.

And for the latter, Smellerbee was glad.

After all of this was done, Longshot helped her up and they walked back toward the tree house.

"_Well, thanks Longshot."_

"_You sound sad."_

"_I guess-… oh, never mind."_

"…_You know, just because Jet tells you it's not good to _look_ like a girl, doesn't mean you can't still _be _one."_

"_Yeah, you're right. Thanks for real this time, Longshot."_

"_You're welcome."_

-- -- --

There's a lot that Smellerbee remembers, but there's a few things she can _never _forget.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Note:**__ Okay, okay, I know it's crappy, but it's my first attempt at writing anything with the Freedom Fighters in it, much less anything with Longerbee (Smellershot?) in it. Please go easy on me, I tried my best!_

_I totally made up everything about their past here, I have no evidence this is how or why things happened, and it you happen to know the real reason for something in the story, that's great, but please don't tell me because I'm not going to change it._

_And Hello-Lovely, this is for you, and because I'm still getting used to the Freedom Fighters, I'll make a better one for you later on._

_Reviews are love!_

_Oh, and freckles aren't girly! Guys can have them too!_


	33. Toph: So I've Heard

Everyone has a person to care for them; to love them more than normal, to want them to be happy, to make sure they're safe.

I think the Spirits forgot about me.

You know, if it was Katara sitting out here alone you can be sure Aang would come after her, or her brother would ask her where she was going so he could check on her. They would keep her safe.

I'm defiantly not Katara; and for that I'm glad. It's not like I need someone to come bother me anyways- Toph Bei Fong doesn't need help from anyone! I can pull my own weight, take care of myself!

But sometimes being the greatest Earthbender in the world can get a little lonely.

Especially on nights like this, when everyone forgot about me, so I sit here by myself and pretend that maybe I can see the stars, and maybe I'm out here alone because I want to be and not because I have nothing better to do.

The term 'alone' can change, depending on how you look at it. I'm not necessarily _alone_, I mean, there are other people out here, too.

Just not _with me_.

Just another one of those fancy parties, seriously, I thought I was getting out of this stuff by going to travel with the Avatar, but nowadays there's tons of we-won-the-war-hooray-for-us-so-let's-party kind of things, and it's just as bad as when I was rich.

So I always find someplace outside to go and sit down; hide for a while from the music and stiff dances and strangers. It's calming to spend time out here, other people do it too. You just find a special person and take them out with you, and then you can enjoy the breeze and the rushing of the streams and the shiny night sky.

So I'll just wait for someone to find me. The trouble is, no one ever does.

I guess all my friends are busy tonight. Katara probably dragged Aang out onto the dance floor, and somewhere inside some girl is most likely slapping or pouring their drink on Sokka because he used one of those pickup-lines on them. Zuko must be mingling with the other nobles, but that doesn't matter 'cause he even he found me we never know what to say.

That means I'll be out here all night. And I'm okay with it. Really, I never liked parties much anyways, and I'll be fine sitting out here in the night air for a couple more hours. I can listen to murmurs of the water running over stones, or the sweet-talk of roaming couples until it's time to leave. I'm by myself most of the time anyway, so I'm already used to it.

Besides, the stars are beautiful tonight… or so I've heard.


	34. Pakku: Empty Rooms

It was in that moment, as he sat in the parlor surrounded by various food and drink, he acknowledged for the first time that this wasn't how things were supposed to happen.

Was it not a few moments before when Kana had come up to his home, standing in front of the icy entrance and asking him if she may come in?

"_No"_ he had said sharply, hoping that would be enough for her and she would leave.

"_But Pakku… I heard about your party, and I wanted to come."_

There was a beat of silence after that, before Pakku stuck his head out of the ice-door, eyes narrowed and face pinched. _"You don't mean that."_

"_I- Pakku, I heard some of the other guys talking…"_

"_I don't need your sympathy!" _Pakku's full form was now visible, slightly hunched over and planted firmly in accusation. _"You're just here because you feel sorry for me, you don't think any of my friends are gonna show up! Well, I'll have you know that the other guys I invited are here right now, and we're having such a good time that we don't need you!"_

"_Pakku…" _Kana was clearly pained by his words. _"Please"_

"_No. I don't need you; I have plenty of other friends here, and letting a girl like you in would only ruin it." _Glaring at Kana, Pakku nodded behind him. _"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a party to get back to. Can't keep the guys waiting."_

Slamming his ice door back into place, Pakku backed up against the wall and slid down, dropping his head into his hands.

"Help yourself, guys. There's plenty of food for everyone."

It was in that moment, sitting in the parlor surrounded by various food and drink, he acknowledged for the fist time how pathetic it was to be talking to this empty room.

_**Note:**__ Aww, poor Pakku. I'm feeling rather sad-ish lately, so I decided to torture Pakku. See, lately I've had no one to talk to, and so I made up this little onesie about Pakku throwing a party and inviting all the guys and no one showing up…_

_I've got a plethora of sentance drabbles I've never posted, and I was wondering if you, as the reader, would want me to post them? Review and leave you opinion._


	35. Teo: Arguments

"Hey, remember Teo?"

It was kind of a stupid thing to say, but Aang had never been very 'smooth' when it came to conversation, anyway. Scratch that, he had never been very smooth period.

"Nope"

Sokka stopped picking his toenails to stare at Toph dumbly. "He wasn't talking to you, Toph. No duh you wouldn't remember, you weren't even _there_!"

"Well, Twinkle Toes over here needs to specify who he's talking to!"

Aang watched the argument in growing panic. He needed to change the subject before Toph kicked Sokka's butt.

"Hey, could someone please just answer my question… you know, without all the yelling… and stuff." Again, he was never very smooth.

Sokka brushed off his shirt and did some sort of hair-flippy thing with his ponytail to regain his dignity before answering Aang. "Yeah, I remember him. The cripple, right?"

This rude comment from her brother snapped Katara's head right up from her sewing. "Sokka!"

"Gee," Toph mumbled, while rolling her useless eyes, "I wonder what he calls me when I'm not around."

But Katara wasn't done lecturing. "It's not polite to talk about people like that, especially when it's behind their backs."

"Oh please" Sokka retorted, narrowing his eyes and leaning toward his sister. "So _you_ can gossip, but I can't?"

Aang watched as Katara's mouth fell open in shock, then set in rage. Before anyone could say anything, Aang stepped in. "Katara's not a gossip."

Toph snorted so hard Sokka swore he saw her inhale a piece of toenail.

"Hey!" Katara rounded on Toph. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing. I didn't say anything at all."

"Yeah, but you-"

"Guys! Please, we need to stop fighting! Forget it; I'm sorry I ever brought him up." Aang hung his head in defeat as he spoke.

"Sheesh, Sokka" Katara huffed as she threw his half-mended pants at his face. "Look what you did; now Aang's all upset!"

With that Katara abandoned her post and crawled over to where Aang sat.

"Heeey! Come on Katara, he's not mad, he's _Aang._ Hello? Are you even listening to me? Katara I need you to fix my pants!"

Toph twitched a little where she was snoozing, and then raised her head from her chest to stare in Sokka's direction. "Wait a minute, are you not wearing pants?"

Silence engulfed the two while Sokka stared incredulously at Toph, who sat seemingly emotionless.

"Uh… not really."

"Oh, okay… weirdo."

"Hey! I'm not a-… yeah, okay"

Meanwhile, Katara had placed a gentle hand on Aang's arm, and apologized for the group's behavior. "Now Aang, what is it about Teo that you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh" Aang replied, a blank look drawing across his face. "I'm not really sure… I just, I don't know… I just thought of him."

--

Teo sat in his father's workshop, having just finished his afternoon flight. "Hey, Dad, do you remember Avatar Aang?"

His father perked up instantly, looking up from his endless blue prints to smile widely. "Ah, yes. The small bald child, hmm?"

"Dad! It's not nice to talk about people like that….

_**Note: **__Alright, before you ask, I have no idea when or where this takes place._

_And ya, I know that this isn't sentence drabbles, but I decided that I need to work on them more before they're post-worthy._


	36. Aang Gaang: Cost of War

---_cost _**of** _war_---

Lives can alter quickly,

And seasons change too fast,

You're regarded weak and sickly,

When a war has come to pass.

He remembers better days,

It hurts to know this war,

They set his temple ablaze,

His kind exists no more.

She remembers better days,

Her mother was killed in war,

Her days pass in a haze,

She misses life from before.

He remembers better days,

He lost too much in the war,

Fighting back in many ways,

He strives to settle the score.

She remembers better days,

When she didn't know about the war,

For she was blindly raised,

Not supposed to find out more.

They remember when life was fair,

And situations weren't so dire,

Back when earth water and air,

Got along with fire.


	37. Sokka: Humpty Dumpty

Sokka hadn't been there when it happened, but he had heard all about it. He could picture it all happening, too; the battle, the army of Di Lee agents, Aang rising up into Avatar State, Azula's sickening smile as she shot the lighting straight through Aang's back, and then his best friend falling, falling, _falling_.

Sokka had a bad feeling about all of this. It had been days since the attack, days since Katara's recollection, days of watching his sister try to heal, then cry, then try, then cry. It had been days since they had landed Appa on this island, and an eternity since Aang had woken up.

And as Katara tried her healing waters on Aang's back yet again, Sokka sat by the fire, putting aside his former thoughts of 'fortune telling is mumbo-jumbo', and trying to predict the future. From his perch he could hear his sister's voice, clear and sweet though she was crying on the inside, singing to Aang an old rhyme she learned long ago.

Toph had wandered over (although Sokka had scooted over to make room for her on the log, she plopped down on the dry earth in front of him) and, leaning to the side, placed her head in his lap.

Had it been a few days earlier Sokka would have been appalled by the girl's open display of weakness and her need for comfort, but a lot of things had changed, and now he rubbed her back as he had done for Katara in a time of grief.

The only difference was now, instead of his baby sister, it was Toph, the world's greatest Earthbender, who needed a shoulder to cry on. It seemed that a little piece of everyone had died that day _it_ happened. Almost like they went to sleep and never woke up.

Kind of like Aang did.

"You should rest, young lady. I know you're just trying to help, but I'm sure the Avatar wouldn't want you hurting yourself in the process."

The Earth King stood over Katara, gently smiling down at her. Unfortunately, the word _'trying'_ wasn't lost on her, and she bitterly turned back to Aang, ignoring any advice to get some sleep.

"Yeah" Toph mumbled into Sokka's leg, "I'm sure '_Mis_ter Avatar' wouldn't want to be unconscious and _dying_ either."

As soon as she spoke, Sokka clasped his hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Katara had heard what Toph said ("Oops, did I say that out loud?") and the healing water splattered to the ground as the older girl began to sob openly.

Lifting her head from Sokka's lap Toph awkwardly tried to apologize, -"Aw, Katara, c'mon, you know I didn't mean it"- but Toph had used the d-word, and everyone knew there was no turning back.

Aang was _dying_.

Unbidden, Katara's voice crept back into his mind, though it sounded different than when she was singing to Aang… almost… eerie.

_Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall_

No, the song was unimportant, Aang was in serious trouble, and he needed to focus on keeping the group together while this nightmare was going on.

Sokka looked over to Aang and felt the sadness wash over him. Holding back his own tears as he watched his sister cradle the once energetic boy, Sokka knelt down beside him, and although he tried to look at Aang's face, he found his eyes drawn to the angry red wound covering most of the youth's back.

How horrible it must have been for Katara to see her best friend wounded like that, it hurt Sokka just looking at it! One second you think you're winning, the next Aang's dropping out of the sky.

_Humpty Dumpty had a great fall_

Without thinking Sokka put his hands over his ears, to try to block out that mocking voice. "Katara" he mumbled under his breath, "Stop singing…"

"I'm not singing, Sokka"

And sure enough, Sokka looked over to find his sister sitting there with her mouth closed, but her eyes wide open with concern, and a little fear.

"Oh" Sokka stated, uncurling himself and noting that everyone was now staring at him. "Well, of course you weren't."

Toph raised an eyebrow but, considering she had done enough damage in one day, kept her mouth shut.

Katara turned her attention back to Aang, and Sokka was relived to see she had stopped crying. As Sokka watched Katara soothe the unconscious Avatar, he felt Toph sit down next to him, heaving a sigh.

He draped his arm around her and she hesitated for a minute before resting her head on his shoulder. _'Well'_ Sokka thought forlornly, _'At least this brought us closer together…'_ though something else was telling him it was just pushing Katara farther away.

The Earth King must have given up his quest to get Katara to lie down, as he was on the other side of the camp fire having an animated conversation with Bosco. Sokka let his eyes rest on the King for a moment, (If you could still call him a King) and this time he wasn't so unsettled when the next verse floated into his mind.

_All the King's horses and all the King's men_

"It'll be okay" the Waterbender whimpered, stroking Aang's arm.

It took Sokka a minute to realize that this time Katara's voice had spoken aloud, instead of reciting songs in his head.

"You can't die. You won't die." Katara then looked up at Toph, defiance written all over her face. "He _won't_ die… will he?" Toph shuddered, and Sokka tried to be supportive, but nothing would come out. Katara looked to the Earth King, begging him to assure her things would be fine. "We can help him r-right?"

"I-" The Earth King was flustered, but there was something on his face that Sokka found almost fatherly as he struggled for words. "I, oh child, I don't know."

Toph let out a whimper here, and everyone seemed to be surprised to find that she had tears running down her cheeks (she couldn't be sad, she was _Toph_!). Sokka held Toph tighter, and flinched as Katara cried out (he couldn't make out the words, something like _'why'_, or '_die_', or _'bye'_). The Earth King sat uncomfortably watching this from across the campsite, beside moaning and groaning animals.

They stayed like that for a while, and eventually, after things had quieted down, Katara opened her mouth like she was about to sing, but with a glance at Sokka her mouth closed and she rested her apologetic gaze on Aang.

Besides, Sokka already knew what she would have said.

_Couldn't put Humpty together again_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_**Note:**__ Dude, leave it to me to take a nursery rhyme and make it a creepy story. Well, hey, we all knew it sounded at least a little sinister. Ah, well._

_And yes, I'm currently working on a longer Toph drabble, and the third chapter to Marriage, but this crazy thought popped into my head and I was forced to make it into this WEIRD drabble._

_Be expecting more drabblets from me in the near future; the plot bunnies like to screw with me._

_I dunno, I sorta like this one. Comment, if you please!_

_And Ya-ha for my Tokka implements!_


	38. Yue: Her Melody

**H e r --- - --- **_**m**__e__**l**__o__**d**__y_

Dum dum, dum da dum, dum dum

_Once there was a little boy who said those_

_Three words to a pretty little girl_

_They thought their tune would carry on forever_

_Now you hear it all over the world_

_--_

_And never was there a melody as lovely_

_Never was the music so pure_

_Never did the world spin so perfect_

_As it did when he was with her_

_--_

_Sadly they could not be together_

_And though people die their memory never does_

_With this song they can live on forever_

_If not for their love then only because_

_--_

_Never is there a melody as lovely_

_Never is the music so true_

_Never does the world spin so perfect_

_As it does when I am with you_

Dum dum, dum da dum, dum dum

_**Note:**__ Look familiar? Good, cause the chorus on this little ditty was from Letter M, Melody from Kataang ABC._

_Betcha didn't know my pal fell in love with it, and we wrote the rest of the song sittin' on the dock with our feetsies danglin' in the water on a cloudy day._

_So I randomly typed it up, and put it on here for ya'll. And yes, the song had a real tune and _melody_, but it's kind of impossible for me to put it on here for obvious reasons, so I'll give you a little hint._

_Avril Lavigne's song "Slipped Away", listen to the part where it goes 'nana-na-na-na-nana', and you'll kind of get the idea for the Dum-dum part, but for the rest, I'm afraid you'll have to improvise._

_Well, all this explaining makes me head hurt, and the author's note is already longer than the song, so I'll just get off now :)__ Big smiles!_


	39. Ty Lee: Brother

**b r o t h e r**

One look in the mirror reveals her aura has turned green, and Ty Lee decides it's best to spend some time away from her friends for a while until she's back to pink.

Ty Lee had never been the envious type, and was very contented in her life. She had never once looked at Azula and thought, _'I wish I was princess'_, or spread a rumor that Mai dyed her gorgeous ebony hair simply because she was stuck with badger-mole brown.

No, early on Ty Lee accepted that her friends had different talents; all good, and that they looked different; all beautiful, and that they each had their own role in society; equally important.

So then why, after coming home from a day at the academy, was she so… so _green_?

She would sleep on it, Ty Lee decided, and in the morning everything would be normal. Besides, tomorrow was Saturday, which meant Daddy was taking her with him to the palace and she got to play with the other kids while he was in meetings.

Saturdays were her favorite.

Perhaps that's why Ty Lee awoke so early the next morning, or maybe it was the smell of breakfast Mama made that she and Daddy never got to eat (always in a hurry, her Papa) 'cause they scurried out the door.

Daddy is especially quiet on their carriage ride that morning, and Ty Lee feels real out of place sitting next to this important man, and wishes she had another kid there with her. She wishes she wasn't alone.

But that doesn't matter, because in a minute the carriage will pull up to the palace, and she'll soon be sitting in the courtyard with her friends.

And it is so. Ty Lee finds herself cart wheeling with Azula through the grass as Mai watches form her favorite spot under the tree. Zuko walks out to where the girls play, and sits down in a huff.

Ty Lee knows the only reason Zuko sits with them is because today they get a special treat, as Iroh has promised to spend lunch with them.

Ty Lee loves Mr. Iroh (Call me _Uncle_, he insists) and his jokes, and thinks Azula to be the luckiest girl in the world to be related to such a jolly man. Sometimes she wishes Mr. Iroh ate with them every day, just so she could call him _Uncle_ and pretend maybe he's hers.

But still, her wanting an Uncle never turned her bitter, and it certainly didn't make her _jealous_ of Azula. If anything, it made Ty Lee happier that Azula was her friend, and it made her grateful and smiley and _pink_.

But there was something that Azula had that Ty Lee wanted desperately. Something that did make her jealous, and turned her as sour and green as the limes Mr. Iroh squeezed in his tea. And that something was Zuko.

Ty Lee can see Mai watching Zuko, and she can see her cheeks turn pinks when Zuko watches back. Ty Lee watches Zuko, but in a different way. She wanted Zuko too, probably more than Mai did, but there was one big difference. Mai wanted a boyfriend.

Ty Lee just wanted a brother.

Azula had it all (Mai had it, too, but Tom-Tom wasn't much fun yet). A fun, loving man to call Uncle, and a Papa who sat down to breakfast, a Grandpa she was affectionately named after, a Mama who still kisses her Papa every now and then, and most of all, a boy to call brother.

Ty Lee thinks _brother_ must be the loveliest word in the world.

To imagine, a boy to live with her, and play with her, and tell her to cover up her tummy 'cause the boys are gonna look at her, and pay her extra-special attention when Daddy wouldn't.

How wonderful it would be to have a brother, someone whom her kids could call "Uncle" when he ate lunch with them, and he could be theirs and no one else's.

Ty Lee thought about having a brother often, but it had only made her green once before. She remembers when they were little, and she and Azula and Zuko and Mai were all sitting out in the courtyard, much like they were doing now, when Azula told Zuko he was a stupid brother and that she didn't want to be his sister anymore.

And then, without thinking (she hardly ever did) Ty Lee turned to Zuko and said _"I'll be your new sister."_ Azula and Mai had started laughing like she had just told the joke about the man and his rooster-pig, so she went right along laughing too. Only Zuko seemed to notice that her eyes were just a little watery, and the look he gave her –sympathy mixed with protectiveness and something that seemed to say _'better you than Azula'_- had just about killed her, because she guessed that was the closest she was ever gonna get.

She had turned green after that, but it was mostly covered by the deep blue of her sadness so she hadn't noticed.

Her aura was heavy all the rest of the weekend, and by the time Monday rolled around Ty Lee didn't even make an effort to try to catch breakfast before Daddy rushed her out the door.

On her way up to the gate Ty Lee was about as mopey as ever, until that is, Azula showed up eager to spill the palace gossip from the day before.

"It's a shame your Papa only lets you come over on Saturdays, Ty Lee, 'cause boy did you ever miss the stupidest fight ever."

"A fight?" Ty Lee's eyes were filled with amazement, wondering whether the grown-ups had broken out into a bending match in the middle of a meeting, or two of the palace kids got into a scuffle in the court-yard. "What happened?"

"Well" Azula started, casually glancing at her nails. "You know that Dilly, the big one? Well, he called you an airhead, and it set Zuko off. Next thing you know he's tackled Dilly to the ground even though the kid's twice his size!"

"Wow! You mean he did that all for me?!"

"Mmm-hmm" Azula stated, still studying her nails, as if this wasn't a big deal at all. Then, puffing herself up with pride, she added "Some of the boys teased that ya'll are sweet on each other, but _I_ told them you weren't, and Zuko's just real protective of us."

"Us" Ty Lee echoed, trying to figure out if Azula meant what she thought she did.

"Yeah, you know, me you and Mai." Blowing a stray hair out of her face, Azula rolled her eyes. "Protective older brothers, what can you do?"

And with that Azula pranced off, leaving Ty Lee to gape behind her.

"What can you do…?"

After that Ty Lee's aura was as pink as Zuko's swollen face.

_**Note:**__ Aww, Ty Lee wants a family of her own. A sweet Zuko Ty Lee friendship fic, not a pairing!_

_I'm not sure about the time line for this one, but I was so inspired by the song "Brother" by Racoon. _

_He's to you, big brothers everywhere! And no, I don't know where Mai is at the end, or if hair dye was even invented._


	40. Aang: Syllable

S**-y****-**l**---l-**a**---b**-l-**e**

"_If you can't give her space, _

_We're afraid it's too late, _

_You've got to let her go now,_

_Or we can't help you, brother."_

He could feel it.

It sat in his bones, and in his brain, and right in the center of his heart.

He knows what he has to do, and he knows what he should do, and he knows what he will do, but he can feel what he _wants _to do sitting all around him.

Or, sitting next to him.

"How are you feeling, Aang?"

"Fine"

"Are you going to give me a different answer that's more than one syllable this time?"

"…No"

A sigh. "Alright"

"_And all he thinks, _

_The love is gone, _

_The broken-hearted, _

_They must be strong"_

She really was being too patient with him. She was Katara, and she was kind, and he loved her for it, but something was telling him it would be a lot easier to let go of her if she would let go of him first.

So he repeatedly tried to push her to a breaking point, even though it broke him in the process.

"Are you hungry, Aang?"

"No"

"Are you tired?"

"No"

Another sigh. "Do you want to talk about anything?"

"No"

"You should lie down, Aang, okay?"

She didn't wait for a one-syllable response or a nod of the head; instead she wrapped an arm around him and slowly pulled him back until he was resting comfortably on Appa. Aang felt her arm around him as he drifted off to sleep, but he didn't try to shrug it away.

That night he dreamt of the Avatars, as he often did. They weren't there standing with him, they weren't even in sight at all, but he could hear them.

"_And if you're willing to fight, _

_Then you'll make it all right"_

He could see everything happening. There he was, sitting with the Guru. There he was, walking with Iroh. There he was, fighting along side Katara. There he was, trying to give her up.

And there they were, losing.

And still the Avatars sang.

"_You've got to let her go, now-_

He was sorry, he really was.

_Or we can't help you, brother._"

'Sorry" That's two syllables, right there.

_**Note: **__What is this? I don't know, probably a product from my 'can't stop listening to "Brother" by Racoon' and too much sugar. And why can't I stop writing post finale fics?!?! IDON'TKNOW!_

_I am soooo tired right now._

_I don't like this one, it's incoherent, messed up, confusing, totally un-edited, yet I can't stop myself from posting it…_

_Lyrics from "Brother" by Racoon._

_I'm off to bed. _


	41. Mai: Beginnings and Ends

**b-e-g-i-n-n-i-n-g-s ****&** _ends_

They were on their way to school. _Yes_, Mai remembers, _that's when it happened_. She was following Azula up to the front gates when she spotted a little girl clad in the same pinkish-red uniform as herself (though it seemed _so_ much pinker on this girl) running up to them.

The girl stopped just behind them; hands on her knees but smiling brightly. "Hi!" she exclaimed with a happiness Mai had never known. "Who are you?"

"I'm _Princess_ Azula of the Fire Nation; your future ruler." Mai didn't bother correcting her and saying Zuko would be the future ruler; Azula assured her he wouldn't- she was working on a plan. "You can bow if you want."

"Oh" the strange girl said, quickly kneeling down and tugging her skirt up in a very formal courtesy. She popped back up as soon as she was down, and it took Mai a second to realize that she was being started at.

"And you?" The girl pressed, looking at her expectantly.

"Mai" she answered simply, tossing her head to the side in an attempt to get this girl's eyes off her.

It didn't seem to work, because she was soon following them dutifully through the gates and up the school steps, babbling all the while. "My name's Ty Lee. It's spelled like two words, but you say it like one. Ty, and then Lee. You can remember it because it rhymes with Tai Chi. Hey, guess what? I'm learning how to block chi, oh, but shhh, it's a secret! That's okay, I trust you. Did you know that I'm teaching myself? It's really fun!"

And that's how they met Ty Lee. When asked why she had decided to run up to _those two_ of all people Ty Lee responds with a shrug and "I figured they could bring me adventure."

And now, a lifetime of adventures later Mai watched as her friend slowly left this world.

They were on their way to the palace. _Yes_, Mai remembers, _that's when it happened_. They were following Azula through the battle and toward her father's chamber where they would help to kill the Avatar, when she spotted some young man clad a blue Water Tribe uniform (as so many of the other soldiers) running up to them.

The man stopped just behind them; hands on his war club and scowling deeply. "Fire Nation" he screeched with a hatred Mai had never known. "You die now!"

"Excuse me, but I am _Princess _Azula of the Fire Nation, and soon to be ruler of your pesky Water Tribe." Mai didn't bother telling her that this man probably didn't care _who_ she was, only that she was wearing red. But Azula was already working on a plan, and jolted a blast of blue fire into the man's stomach. "Look, he's bowing already"

"Oh" the man moaned as he crumpled to the ground. He tried to get up, but remained kneeling, clutching his stomach. It took Mai a second to realize they had been watched by an Earth Kingdom solider the entire time.

"You!" the Earth solider cried, recognizing the Princess and her friends.

"MAI!" a voice screeched (it sounded like Ty Lee) and Mai found herself tackled and tossed to the side, struggling to get Ty Lee off of her.

It didn't seem to work, though, because she was lying very limply, almost as if… Mai rolled out from under Ty Lee to find that Azula had already escaped (most likely to her father's side) with the Earth Kingdom man chasing after her.

And that's how she found herself, sitting here, next to Ty Lee, who had a rock sticking through her stomach. Ty Lee had pushed her out of the way… had saved her. She could've been the one on the ground with a rock sticking out of her.

"Ty Lee" Mai whispered.

"That's my name," she answered. "Now you'll always remember me because I- because I saved you." Mai didn't know what to say, but thankfully her friend, even in her last few minutes, never ran out of words. "Hey, guess what? I wouldn't have… wouldn't have pushed Azula out of the… way. Only you-" she had to pause here, and struggle for breath, "but shhh, it's a secret. That's okay I… trust you." She smiled a little. "Did I ever… tell you, Mai that I'm so glad... I met you. It's been really- been really fun."

And that's how the world lost Ty Lee. When asked (a long while later) why she started visiting the circus yearly, Mai always responds with a shrug and "I figured I could use an adventure."

And now, a lifetime (much longer than most of her friends') of adventure later, Mai is ready to join Ty Lee as she leaves this world.

_**- - -**_

_**Note:**__ This was hard to write, and I suppose I'm proud of myself for finishing. Um, if you didn't already notice, there are kind of some huge similarities between the beginning and the end, so it can help if you re-read it._

_With this drabble; I declare my writers block over!_

_Written while listening to the song "Seasons of Love" from Rent._


	42. Sokka and Katara: Impractical Jokes

Sokka awoke in his tent, in his village, in the Southern Water Tribe, and had a bit of an epiphany.

It was cold.

He looked around the tent, only to find that the flap was closed, and should be blocking most of the cool winds from entering. He glanced down at his body, and found it to be covered securely with his hide blanket. Then what in the name of La was going on?

Deciding he would get up and slip his parka on instead of going back to sleep (he was so cold he actually felt _wet_) he maneuvered an arm out of the blanket to find it covered in white snow.

He ripped the blanket off of him to find his whole body bombarded by ice and snow, stacked and padded around his legs and increasing up to the middle of his chest.

And it was still in-tact. It hadn't melted yet; it was unbelievably fresh.

Jumping out of bed he let out a scream, then turned (parka forgotten) and marched straight out of the tent.

"KATARA!"

Katara turned, baby on her hip, another tugging at her hair. "Why hello there, big brother, I thought you'd never wake up."

Sokka stood there, his face twisted up with anger (Katara could almost see the steam coming out of his ears) and pointed accusingly at his sister, shaking a fist at her, and finally, not knowing what to do with his hands, threw them up in exasperation. "What is going on here!?"

"Well," she started, setting the little boy down of the ice, placing her hands on her hips and carefully scrutinizing Sokka. "I'd say you're standing out here in only your underwear, covered in snow, and about to freeze your toes off."

Sokka stopped raging for one minute to look down at his bare feet, already turning blue. With another shriek he rushed into the tent, flap closing behind him. From inside the tent he could hear Katara's obnoxious laughter.

Katara turned- still laughing at her idiotic brother- and walked over toward the center of the village to help the mother's with their children.

Unbeknownst to Katara, Sokka had burst heroically from the tent (fully clothed, _this _time) and was running at her full speed.

In a blur of blue brother had tackled sister to the ground, and was now sitting on her back and shoving her face in the snow. Katara's muffled screams and tears were barely heard over Sokka's demands to "say uncle" ("Wait, we don't have an uncle. Alright- say Gran-Gran!")

"Ban-Ban! Ban-Ban!"

"No, not _Ban-Ban_, Katara, Gran-Gran."

"Thokka! Thop!"

"Say it! Say-" at this moment the very grandmother of the feuding siblings arrived at the scene, arms crossed over her parka "Um…Gran-Gran…"

Let's just say Sokka quickly found out, thanks to Gran-Gran, that making Katara eat snow wasn't the best way to get back at her for her practical joke…

But who said it was the _only_ way?

Katara awoke in her tent, in her village, in the Southern Water Tribe, and had a bit of an epiphany.

She could see the sky.

If she was in her tent, she wouldn't be able to see the sky…

She sat up immediately, and all around her was ocean! Looking down, she saw she was sitting on a block of ice, floating away from the mainland…

If she squinted really hard, she could make out a figure standing on the shore, waving to her.

"SOKKA!"

_**Note:**__ Ahaha, yea, I wrote something pointlessly funny. I'm in a very good mood because we had a successful garage sale today, and all of the earnings went to a honorable charity called the "I really want a keyboard fund". You should think about donating._

_Lol, well, I get my keyboard tonight! Yay pianos!_

_Their ages are 10 and 11._


	43. Toph: Nostalgia

It was over.

The Day of Black Sun, Aang's battle with Ozai- the entire war.

It was all over.

People were cheering all around her, but Toph thought all the screaming and crying sounded too much like the battle-field.

Aang was congratulated, and thanked (a few people had even _kissed_ him), but Toph didn't care about any of that. The only thing that mattered to her was that Aang was healed, and healthy, and _safe_.

The group stood in a tent, a few days after the battle, with a flustered Aang who had just finished resting and was promptly bombarded by adoring fans. Next to Aang stood Katara, her arm resting on his shoulder, ready to push away anyone who got too close (coughFoamycough). Sokka was standing on the other side of Aang, and Toph stood to Sokka's left.

She could feel everything going on around her. People were jumping and hugging, and there was crying; lots and lots of tears.

But didn't they get it? Everything was over!

The crowd kept cheering.

Toph heard Sokka as he patted Aang on the back. "Here we are, buddy. Can you believe it? The summer is finally over, and here we are."

Toph gritted her teeth. That was exactly it! The summer- _her_ summer was over. She knew that after this Katara would stay with Aang (there was no doubt about that) and Sokka would probably go off to meet Suki or spend time with his dad. Where did that leave her?

She couldn't keep traveling with Aang- this was something she had known the minute she started her journey. There would be some point where she would have to go back- the family fortune, her Blind Bandit title, even her parents- she would have to go back for it all.

But she had the summer. That's what she told herself over and over, every time she thought about home. She had until the end of summer to be free, and then she had to go back to sneaking out of the house and playing the part of the blind baby.

Aang was a Nomad- Toph knew this very well. She also knew that Katara was able to adapt to the travel, and Sokka would be able to get used to living without them easily.

But she was Earth. She couldn't fly away whenever she wanted, she needed to have roots; a home. A slab of Earth for herself.

And she couldn't keep running away, either. She needed to go home and face the facts, to finish what she started. Her friends thought the battle was over, but hers had yet to begin.

Toph knew she wouldn't see her friends again anytime soon.

And so she cried, right there, in front of everyone. Sokka looked back at her and smiled, putting his arm around her shoulder and making her cry harder. He thought she was so happy, that she was so relieved that this war was over she had finally broken her tough exterior.

He didn't know how wrong he was.

It was because she knew how much she would miss Katara accepting her as a girl and a warrior. Because she knew she would miss Aang respecting her like she deserved, and because she knew she would miss the way Sokka never gave up on her. Because she knew there would be no more Appa or Momo or adventures or campfires or fighting or teaching or being plain Toph.

There would be no more falling asleep with her friends all around her, so Toph Bei Fong cried.

And the crowd kept cheering.

_**Note:**__ Last Day of summer! Good luck to everyone, let's make this year a good one!_

_And because school is starting everyone knows updates will be scarce, and so I just wanted some opinions. After I finish up with some of my other little projects, would you all like to see a 100drabble for the Water Tribe? Or possibly Kataang, but that's probably already been done. Drabbles are fun and easy to write, and I could update those a lot faster (think like I did with Kataang ABC)._

_Thanks everyone, and have a wonderful school-year!_


	44. Aang: In a Way

It was ironic, in a way.

The battle; their travels; their lives, all ended so abruptly.

They all died; every last one of them. It seemed like a curse that everyone he befriended in this new world ended rather quickly.

Aang lifted himself off the old chair and walked out onto the balcony. He stood there, in the light of the setting sun, and looked out across Omashu's delivery system. It brought back many good memories, though he decided to forget any of them having to do with Sokka and Katara long ago.

Bumi walked out onto the balcony and stood next to his friend. "How are you, Aang?"

"Fine"

"We had some good times here, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did."

Yes, just erase the middle of his life, and there was no such thing as Sokka or Katara or Toph. All he had to do was sew the beginning and end together; the result was almost seamless.

Just him and Bumi, standing on that balcony. Just him and Bumi, like it had always been.

And every once in a while Aang could hear that little voice in the back of his mind say, _'It was real, there was a middle, there were others'_ but he ignores it like always and looks out over the city. If the time is right, and he squints hard enough, he can make out the mountain holding the Cave of Two Lovers….

It was ironic, in a way.

_**Note:**__ I am angsting so badly today- enjoy. I'm working on two Kataang drabbles (one-shots) and a Toph onise, but who knows how long that will take?_


	45. Sokka: Wrinkles

**w r i n k l e s**

There was a time when Sokka had a grandpa.

He was kind, and loving, and generally quiet. He was full of stories and hugs and laughs, and always had a pair of open ears.

Katara thought he was the greatest man in the world. Sokka agreed; with the exception of his father, of course.

Perhaps one of Gramp's best traits was his determination. He never gave up, not on the soldiers, or their village, or the world, or the Avatar. He also never gave up on fighting the war.

He had done his fair share, fighting many battles and by a miracle or sheer luck surviving in a place where too many were wiped out everyday.

He would tell Sokka and Katara about the friends he made, and the constant wondering if today would be his day, _the day he was killed_. He would have stories about the moon giving him strength, and how to be a good warrior, and how to trust the Avatar, to have _faith_ in him even when he wasn't there.

Gramps had deep lines on his forehead, like cracks in a glacier or a bunch of rolling waves. He called them worry lines, from a lifetime of too much thinking. There were also thin outlines at the corners of his eyes, so hard to see you had to squint. These were affectionately called laughing lines, from a lifetime of good humor and jokes.

"How come the laughing lines are hard to see, Gramps," Sokka had asked one day, as he and his sister sat on their grandfather's lap, "and these ones" running a hand across his forehead "are so big?"

"Because of the war."

"The war gives you wrinkles?"

"No, Sokka, life gives you wrinkles" Gramps responded with a laugh. "but the war gave me worries, and the worries gave me wrinkles. With the world today, it seems that laughter is scarce, and worries plentiful."

"Oh." Katara responded, running her fingers over her own tiny face, as if her worries were already there.

Sokka pulled Katara's hand off her face and set it by her lap. "That's why me and Katara are going to live in a world without the war. I already decided."

"You did, did you?" Gramps laughed that way he always did when Sokka said something, and Katara thought she could see his laughing lines getting deeper. It made her laugh, too. Then, Gramps stopped smiling, and he looked at them very seriously. "Will you promise me that, Sokka? Will you make sure you and your sister live without the worries of war?"

"Sure Gramps, I promise."

"That's right, boy." He replied, voice getting shaky. "But to do that, it looks like you'll have to find the Avatar, huh?" Sokka expected to see Gramps laughing again, but the old man was staring out the window, his worry lines increasing by the second.

**- - -**

There was a time when Sokka had a grandpa.

But that time was long gone by now. Just like the war.

Even with all the time that had passed (he was _old _now), Sokka never forgot.

"_Sure Gramps, I promise."_

"Wrinkles are for old guys, isn't that right Sokka?"

Laughter exploded in the room, and Sokka smiled fondly at his friends.

He was sitting in Aang and Katara's house, as the former made fun of his wrinkles.

"Oh, like you're Mr. Smooth" Katara said, rolling her eyes at Aang.

"What?" Aang responded with a grin, fingering the creases at the corners of his eyes. "These old things? They aren't wrinkles, they're laughing lines."

"Where did you hear that?" Katara demanded, eyes glazing over.

"Oh… um," Aang voiced, shrugging "I heard it a hundered years ago, from some kid I met down at the South Pole, back when it was a big city. He said that's what his grandpa called them."

"What was the boy's name?"

"I… can't remember. He reminded me a lot of Sokka, though."

"Yeah…" Katara replied, eyeing her brother. "Me too."

_**Note:**__ Oops, I sort of made up Katara and Sokka's grandpa! Oh, well._

_This was supposed to be about Aang and Gyatso, but I had too many drabbles about Aang already, so I was going to make it about Katara, but that didn't work either, and it just seemed __**so**__ Sokka. He always makes me write about him (dangit Sokka!)_

_Soooo, this is kind of bad, but I'm posting it anyhow! And, let's see… oh yes, at the end Aang is supposed to have met Gramps a long time ago, when he was just a kid (I know the math may not work out, but it was too good to pass up) and i decided to ignore all the stuff i should be writing/doing to write this JUST so i would have something to post for ya'll (and 'cause it wouldn't leave me alone)._

_So, I know I overused a LOT of words in this, but please just over look that, and.. coment if you please!_

_Written to "Will I- Life Support" from Rent._


	46. Meng: Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time there was a girl named Meng.

She lived her life in a fairy tale; it was all in her head. She didn't have any friends, and her parents treated her like a child.

But she worked for a magical old woman. And everyday she would go to work, and this lady would tell her fortune in exchange for a helping hand.

"You will be very happy in the future." the fortune teller would predict. "You will be the talk of the town, and people will always be visiting you. Yes, you will be happy when you grow up. Very happy indeed."

And Meng believed her.

So for the years she was stuck in her village, with no friends, and cruel parents, she lived in a fairy tale. '_Remember the predictions'_ she would tell herself if she ever got to doubting her life. And if that wasn't enough of a reminder, she would continue to work at the old woman's shop everyday.

Meng is very old now. She still lives in the village, sleeping in the top floor of the fortune telling shop, and working the shop in the day. You can visit her if you want, every body does, and you can ask her how her life went.

She'll always tell you, and start with "Once upon a time there was a girl named Meng. She lived a fairy tale life, with a bunch of friends and parents that would let her do anything she wanted…"

Of course, that's not how it happened. In the real world, her life amounted to nothing, and the world wouldn't be any different if she never existed at all. Some people say that the old fortune teller was a liar, and a cruel woman to tell little Meng all those things about her future and get her hopes up, but I still think she was telling the truth.

After all, Meng is the talk of the town, and the kids are always daring each other to visit her. And even if the life she thinks she had is made-up, it makes her happy. Yes, she is very happy indeed.

I've got to go now; my brother and his friends just dared me to visit her. They want me to get my palm read, but I really don't want to. They say if she reads your fortune, then you're cursed, and destined to turn out just like her. Besides, there's no point in going.

Meng always gives out the same fortune, anyway:

""You will be very happy in the future. You will be the talk of the town, and people will always be visiting you. Yes, you will be happy when you grow up. Very happy indeed."


	47. Katara: Monsters

**M o N s T e R s**

When they were just little kids, Sokka would take Katara with him to the nighttime campfire.

The nighttime campfire consisted of all the older boys getting together with their ladies and swapping stories. If the little boys were deemed 'cool enough' they were allowed to come.

For years Sokka attended the campfire meetings. Ever since one of the older boy's (Cade was his name) girlfriends decided Sokka was about the cutest little thing she had ever seen.

Sokka, not wanting to feel left out (and not knowing the real meaning of 'girlfriend'), brought Katara along as 'his lady'.

Some of the older boys would laugh at this, but most thought it was cute, and never said anything.

'Sokka the little Warrior' they would call him, and 'Katara the Waterbender' for his sister.

These meetings started out as a time for the teenagers to relax with each other and spend some time together before most of the older boys had to go to war. Slowly the younger children would come, and pretty soon it was a gathering of the entire youth of the village.

The parents would smile and wave to their children as they marched off like little soldiers, holding the hands of the older kids and walking out into the tundra somewhere. They were safe.

Sometimes, from far away, the campfire smoke was seen on the horizon, and it took the adults a few seconds for the panic to subside.

There was a tradition at the campfire, towards the end of the night that had started out as fun and grew into a scare.

Every night the older boys would move to one side of the fire, and the children would gather around each other and the laps of the older girls. It was then, with the light of the moon and the flames illuminating their faces, the boys would spin long tales of big green monsters that hid behind your tent flap, and the goblins with the long fangs and blood red scales.

Stories of the dragons that came to steal you away in the night, and of haunting spirits that were murdered by trusted friends, and the chilling legend of The Waiting Widow, who stood out in the cold waiting for her husband to return from battle for so long that she was frozen alive _and that howling sound the wind makes is really her cries for her dead husband._

The spooky tales caused nightmares of many, and sometimes a child would shriek or begin to cry. Out of the many kids to end up wetting themselves, Katara and Sokka had never been one. They always kept a brave face, enjoying the stories and earning the respect of the rest of the village.

But Katara knew Sokka was scared. Sometimes at night, after an especially creepy story, he would crawl into bed with her ("to _protect_ you, Katara") and toss and turn, breathing heavily.

Katara never spoke of these midnight visits, and neither did Sokka. Perhaps part of him really did think she was scared, and needed him as much as he needed her, but the truth was that none of those stories did anything for her.

Katara laughed in the face of the child-eating troll who lived by the canal where they kept the canoes, and brushed off tales of goblins and dragons with a smile and sometimes a good-natured shriek to humor the story-teller.

But the things that made Katara cry or scream where nothing like that at all. The things that kept her plagued with nightmares and fears were much, much different.

Katara's monsters aren't big and green and scaly. Her monsters are Daddy's size, and wearing pointy red helmets and shooting fire out of their hands. The kind that have a face like hers, and a family like hers, and maybe even a heart like hers, but a mind to kill.

The kind that dress in red, and bleed in red too.

So she'll sit patiently through the campfire stories and pretend to be afraid of the big green monsters, while Katara really cowers in fear of the camp_fire._

_**Note:**__ Here I am again, neglecting the things I should be doing (requests) and coming up with another drabble. I thought of this in the car, driving through the rain and listening to Bill Cosby on the way back from the beach._

_I dunno, I kinda like it. Sorry guys, but I can't stop writing about little Katara and Sokka, I love them too much. I decided it was time to write something abut Katara, though this didn't really turn out all about her. –shrugs-_

_I should probably go to sleep now. Big, stressful day ahead of me. Oh well, what can you do except pray._

_You guys rock!_


	48. Kataang: Without You

**_w i t h o u t - you_**

It had been days, and he hadn't woken up.

It was only when those days turned into weeks did Sokka start to worry.

Katara wouldn't leave his side. It was a sad sight, really. On more than one occasion Toph had come running up to him, telling him Katara had fainted –yet again- while trying to heal Aang's back. It drained her.

In fact, seeing their best friend like that drained everyone.

Sometimes Sokka would catch Toph hiding behind a rock or deep in a forest crying. Sometimes Sokka would catch himself crying. There was never a time when you wouldn't catch Katara crying.

"_I love you"_ she would tell him over and over again. _"Wake up Aang, I love you!"_

Yeah, well Sokka loved them both, and he didn't like seeing his sister cry. No one did.

"Hey Sokka," Toph had mumbled one evening, after Katara had passed out (another failed attempt at healing). "What do you think Aang would do if he was here, and it was you in that coma?"

He didn't know why she would ask such a question.

It was after that when Sokka began to see him everywhere. When he woke up, there was Aang, putting out the fire, or sitting on Appa, or eating a moon peach. Sokka never moved (he was afraid Aang would leave again) and so he would just sit there staring at Aang until he finally called his name.

Toph eventually got tired of telling him that no one was there.

They all dealt with it their different ways (ignoring their own needs, crying when no one's looking, seeing things) but the truth was, Aang's life was paused, and everyone else's kept on playing.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Without you- the ground thaws_

_The rain falls_

_The grass grows_

_Without you- the seeds root_

_The flowers bloom _

_The children play_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was raining.

Katara used to smile when it rained; not anymore.

Every once in a while she would hold her canteen open and let the rain pour into it, but otherwise she never even noticed.

There was a breakthrough today.

Aang coughed.

It was hard to hear, but loud enough to know it was him. There was some cheering and dancing, and Katara started crying. I think we all started crying (Toph swears her face was wet because of the rain) but they were happy tears this time.

In fact, if you thought about it, his cough almost sort of sounded like his laugh. Almost.

By the time Katara smiled, the rain was long gone, and a rainbow had taken its place.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_The stars gleam_

_The poets dream_

_The eagles fly_

_Without you- the earth turns_

_The sun burns,_

_But I die-- without you_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Eventually, Aang got better.

Eventually, Aang defeated Ozi, and saved the world, and married Katara.

And eventually, it all came pouring out.

Sokka had been visiting his baby sister for a few weeks when it happened. Aang was asleep- he had been in meetings all day- and Sokka and Katara were in the parlor having tea when her vault broke.

It didn't take Sokka long to realize that something was wrong. It could have been the way Katara switched topics so suddenly (from talking about fishing to Aang's sleeping patterns?) or the way she wrung her hands together as if she was nervous.

"He sleeps a lot, Sokka."

Sokka put down his tea and stared at Katara. "Yeah, um, I see that." He responded, assuming she was talking about the currently napping Aang.

"And I know he's really busy lately, and I want him to get his rest, but-" It was here, for the first time in her speech, she faltered. Katara dropped her head into her hands and let out a few deep breaths, before lifting it again, and resting her gaze on the bedroom door. "Sometimes he looks just like he did when- right after he… when he was… hurt."

"Katara-" Sokka started, but stopped, because frankly- for perhaps the first time in his life- he didn't know what to say.

She was being ridiculous, stressing over something that had happened years ago.

"Look, Katara. He's not. He not sick or hurt or- or _dying_ or any of that, okay? He's just not."

"But, Sokka" she said, her desperateness seeping into her face. "I've been having these

dreams-"

"NO!" Sokka was standing now, his tea forgotten along with his inside voice. "We're not going through this again. Aang is just tired, okay? He's just busy and tired."

Sometimes Katara would forget that Aang being sick was hard on all of them, not just her. It was for this reason (and for whatever older-brother younger-sister obedience she had left in her) she had said "okay", when everything clearly wasn't.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Without y__ou- the breeze warms  
The girl smiles  
The cloud moves- without you  
The tides change  
The boys run  
The oceans crash_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aang knew he had been sick.

He was aware of the fact that he had been struck by lighting, and had been out cold for a number of weeks (no one was willing to clarify) and that Katara had saved him.

But there was so much no one ever told him.

Aang didn't know that Appa had stopped eating, too, or that Katara spent every waking moment (and those not awake) trying to do _something_ for him, and that Sokka had grown delusional an saw him everywhere, and that Toph was left to pick up the pieces.

Aang never found out about Sokka and Katara's conversation that night, or how Katara would cry herself to sleep at times, or the nightmares that plagued her, or how that time of his injury never quite left them.

To him, the moment he had woken up, everything was okay again. He was able to bend, every time he completed a move evoking a smile from Katara (he practiced as hard as he could) and Toph would teach him, and Katara would teach him, and even Sokka began to teach him.

Aang thought everything was okay, but there was so much no one ever told him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_The crowds roar  
The days soar  
The babies cry  
Without y__ou- the moon glows  
The river flows  
But I die- without you_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And it was no surprise that life continued on.

People would still point at Aang on the street, or bend down to kiss his feet (though Katara thought she was about to faint every time someone clapped him on the _back_).

The days passed, and children came and went, and the moon kept shining even when Katara's eyes didn't.

_He's not_, she would tell herself when the dreams came again, _he's just not_.

But many, many years after the happenings, the dreams came back. They always came back to visit, even when the children or Sokka and Toph did not.

And Katara hid it very well. Aang would ask about the bags under her eyes (she'd laugh it off as wrinkles) or her tossing and turning in the night (the moon, she'd say, I can feel the moon and the river keeping me up) or why she would sometimes look right past him, as if he wasn't even there.

Katara never had an excuse for that last one.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_The w__orld revives  
Colors renew  
But I know blue  
Only blue  
Lonely blue_

_Within __me, blue- without you_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And it wasn't until he heard his wife talking in her sleep did Aang learn what no one wanted to teach him.

'_Aang's gone'_ she would mutter, until she began screaming and crying, flailing her arms and kicking. _'HE'S GONE!' 'AZULA KILLED HIM!' 'AANG IS GONE!'_

It took Aang a minute to get a grip on reality. Azula? What was Katara talking about?

He tried to rouse her gently, but when she kept thrashing Aang was forced to shake her out of sleep.

Katara's eyes shot open, and when they fell on Aang she sat straight up, flinging her arms about and screeching something incoherent. Before he knew what was going on, Katara was turning Aang around and lifting his shirt up.

It took him a moment to realize she had been screaming 'your back, your back' at him. It took him another half a minute to realize she meant she needed to look at his back, not just that she was glad he was home.

Her hand brushed over his scar, before she crumpled into the sheets and refused to come back out. It was only after Aang had pretended to fall back asleep did Katara emerge, get up, and walk out the door.

Aang was after her in a flash.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Without you- the hand g__ropes  
The ear hears  
The pulse beats- without you  
The eyes gaze_

_The legs walk  
The lungs breathe  
The mind churns (The mind churns)  
The heart yearns (The heart yearns)_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Katara"

It had been so long ago- so why did that moment- those weeks, haunt her so much now?

"Katara"

She was sitting by a river- her favorite spot of the property- and staring at her reflection when Aang sat down next to her. She had tried running from him- that didn't work- so she had tried ignoring him- that didn't work either.

"Katara- please" He begged. "look at me."

But she focused on the water, on her reflection instead.

"I'm not entirely sure what went on in those weeks I was unconscious, but we could talk about it if you want."

Still no answer.

"Please, Katara. I'm here! I'm sitting right next to you, and I'm awake- please, just look at me."

So she did.

And she was surprised by what she saw.

There was Aang. He had gotten her with that word- awake. Yes, she needed to hear him say that, to finally tell her he was awake and sitting right there.

It seemed she was so afraid of losing him she went on living life as if she had.

"I'm here now, Katara. Everything's alright now, okay?"

She sunk into his arms. "Okay" she murmured against his chest, and this time, everything was.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_The tears dry- without you  
Life goes on  
But I'm gone_

_Caus__e I die  
Without you  
Without you  
Without you  
Without you_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**Note:**__ Yay! This is the request I finally finished for the super-awesome shutupandlisten987. You rock so much! It's great talking with you._

_I'm not sure if this counts as Kataang, and I don't have time to proof-read seeing as how it's way past my bed time, so here you are, I hope you like it!_

_Oh yeah, and I did something really stupid! I'm in the middle of writing another Kataang request for someone, and I went and forgot who it was! If I promised you a Kataang request (you know who you are) please tell me!!_

_Sweet dreams, friends._


	49. Ty Lee: A Dreamer

Ty Lee was a dreamer.

Her dreams came and went; doing flips in her mind and then cart wheeling right out her ear, only to be replaced by new ones. 'Ditsy', they would call her, or 'spacey' or 'dumb'.

But Ty Lee wasn't ditsy ("Even though that word _is _fun to say! _Dit_sy… diiiiitsy…"), and she wasn't dumb- and all that space in her brain was definitely full. There was so many dreams that her regular thoughts ran out of room!

Ty Lee didn't mind what the kids called her; Ty Lee didn't mind much of anything. Her aura was pink as her cheeks (and her tongue, when she stuck it out at those bully- teasers).

Always changing, never constant, flip-flopping around. That's what her brain did all day long- it was only a matter of time before her body followed.

But there was one dream that has stayed the same, that she carried with her when she was at the Academy, and in the circus, and traveling with Azula, and she even brought it with her that day last week when she decided to join the Avatar.

Somewhere, floating around in that head of hers was the hope that one day a boy would love more than the entire world, simply because she was Ty Lee.

She'd prayed about it, whispered it under her breath every time she blew out the birthday candles or tossed a coin into the fountain. She'd read the stories as a child- fairy tales, they were called- and thinks she would gladly give up being human and don the wings and smallness of a fairy, if it meant her wish would be granted.

All her life, never changing, feet firmly on the ground. This dream rooted it's self in her mind, and won't let go for the world. It sticks in that one part of her head –the one called 'need'- and never rolls around like the other dreams when she cart wheels or back flips.

And that's how she showed up to the Avatar and his friends. Feet on the ground (with a bounce in her step) a smile on her face, and a head full of dreams.

And that's how they accepted her.

The blind one was against it the whole time (Ty Lee knows this girl is afraid of change and roots herself to the earth- she needs to embrace the change a twirl a little- but Ty Lee doesn't say anything) and she still won't talk with Ty Lee, even though she's willing to listen.

The older boy (the really, really cute older boy) watches her closely, every move she makes. Ty Lee isn't stupid, she knows he doesn't trust her, but she takes the opportunity to flirt with him anyway, and maybe pretend he's watching her because he loves her for just being Ty Lee.

She likes the older girl and the younger boy. They're nice to her, and always smiling and treating her like a friend. Ty Lee hopes they aren't calling her ditsy behind her back, like her old friends at school used to- but she doesn't worry about that too long. She doesn't like to worry.

Recently she's noticed something bigger between the girl and the boy. Sometimes the girl will talk to her, ask her for advice (she seems to like having a girl her age around) and smile with her. Sometimes she'll talk about the boy; the Avatar.

Ty Lee likes these times the best. It's fun to hear about the Avatar as 'Aang', as 'friend'.

The girl is talking about something having to do with the moon; but Ty Lee doesn't really care for listening to that. She wants to hear more about this Aang boy, and how much the girl likes him. There was something so… sweet about it all; it made her heart light up with joy.

"So- do you like him?"

Katara looked at Ty Lee, who had currently interrupted her story about Yue with a seemingly vague question.

The truth was, Ty Lee had been asked this very often in her childhood (usually by Mai- as she was the only one who bothered) and the answer was always yes. Ty Lee had always liked them; Ty Lee had always liked anyone. Ty Lee was always looking for a special someone, though- and she figured it was faster if she tried everyone.

"Do I what?"

"Aang" Ty Lee replied, smiling because she got to use his name. Not _Avatar_, just Aang. "It's okay. I already know you like him."

And she did.

"Well," Katara said, blushing deeply, but not wanting to pass up the opportunity to finally get this off her chest- and to a girl her age! "Yeah, I do."

"But don't tell anyone!" She exclaimed as an afterthought, waving her hands in the air.

Ty Lee just laughed. "Who do I have to tell?"

"So… you gonna tell him you like him?"

"No."

"Why not, Katara?" Ty Lee did loved using the names of her new friends.

"Because it's not that simple. Look, I don't just like him… I really and truly _care_ about him. He's a huge part of me and- gosh, this probably all sounds so stupid, huh?"

Ty Lee thought she might cry. Her eyes were big and shiny, and her heart was doing flips in her chest. This was it- everything she'd ever wanted this girl _had_, and she didn't even know it.

Ty Lee thought that she should be jealous. She should feel the rage bubbling up in her (the kind that runs through Azula's veins and never leaves), but nothing like that was happening. Instead, she felt overwhelming happiness for the girl sitting next to her. Perhaps that's just the kind of person she is, or perhaps that's just what love can do.

"Aww," Was the first thing that found its way to Ty Lee's throat, quickly followed by "You should tell him, please- just please tell him."

All her life she'd wanted this. Dreamed about it, prayed about it, wished for it. She wanted to be the girl on the receiving end of a boy's undying love, but all of a sudden, for the first time in her life, it wasn't about her.

With all her heart and soul she wanted this to work out. She wanted the boy and girl to get together, and to live happily ever after without the fairy wings.

And somewhere deep inside there was no doubt. They _would_ get together and live happily if not for ever after, and everything wonderful that could ever happen would happen to them, because for some unexplainable reason she felt that everything in the world would turn out right if they did, even if she was never truly loved.

After all, Ty Lee was a dreamer.

_**Note:**__ Everyone's like, huh? libowie wrote some cliché fluffy thing? What on earth has happened!?_

_LOVE! Love has happened, that's what! Not to me (yet) but to two close friends of mine who are sooo destined to be together. I pray everything works out…_

_So you may thing that this is cliché, but it's the real conversation I had with my bud, and Ty Lee's feelings are the ones that danced and sang karaoke in my heart._

_So, this is very personal for me, and if you didn't like it then please don't leave a review. Buuut, if you did like it (or you'd like to review for any reason) then PLEASE, go ahead!_

_Sweet, wonderful dreams, my friends. May your day be full of love!_


	50. Sokka: Tent Air

"I need some space."

"Huh?"

"Space, Katara! You know, as in a place of my own, where I have no little sister to bug me!"

Her lip trembled.

Sokka thrust his arms out, embracing the tundra. "I need more room."

"But Sokka, what about the room we share? What's wrong with it?"

"Well, nothing, if you're in to breathing the same stupid air every morning. Don't you feel it?"

Katara's hands found her hips. "'Course I do." Truth was, she had no idea what he was talking about.

"You're lying."

Her lower lip stuck out in a pout.

"Sheesh, don't start crying! I'm only trying to say that… that this place isn't big enough for me."

"But Sokka, we're standing out here in the middle of the ice! There's nothing else out here for as far as we can see, how can you possibly think it's not big enough?"

He walked away. Katara scurried to follow him, and Sokka didn't say one word until they reached the ocean.

Then he stopped, and turned toward her.

His arm pointed out toward the water. "Haven't you ever wondered what's beyond that ocean?"

"Not really…"

"Well, it's about time to start. This block of ice is suffocating, Katara, I need… I need more area, I need to be able to run for miles and miles and not come to a dead end. It's like we're trapped down here or something. The whole world isn't made of ice, you know."

"It's not?"

"Nope. And you know what? One day I'm gonna know the feeling of the ground under me, and the land all around me, and the real air, not the kind in a tent. I'm getting off this place and going somewhere with no ice… somewhere where I can feel all the room around me."

Sokka looked at the ocean; Katara looked at her feet.

He was staring beyond the ocean, Katara knew. Sokka was looking so far right now that in his mind he could probably see all those far off places made of real land.

Sokka looked at the ocean; Katara looked at her brother.

"Sokka? When you… when you decide to leave… can I come, too? Or do you need the space."

Sokka looked at his sister.

"I'm not going anywhere without you."

_**Note:**__ Oh, gosh, pointless dialogue. This isn't how I normally write, and I wanted to try something new._

_Okay, so I noticed I've been getting a lot of reviews, and if enough people review this drabble then I'll officially pass the number of reviews I have for Kataang ABC, and that's just really emotional for me. I don't know what to think of it._

_Sweet dreams, friends. I'm thankful for you all._


	51. Kana and Katara: Braids

Katara fidgeted with her mittens while Gran-Gran braided her hair.

She knew that Sokka and his friends were outside playing war while she sat with an old woman tugging her scalp inside. She wanted to play so bad, but she also knew they would make her be the Fire Nation while they got to be the Water Tribe, and she would lose. The Water Tribe won every time; Katara always lost.

But that was okay with her, as long as she got to play.

"Can I go play now, Gran-Gran?"

"Does it look like I'm finished?" the woman smoothly replied, holding up the half- woven braid that exploded into a mad frizz of hair yet to be combed.

Katara didn't answer.

There was silence for a while. Gran-Gran braided and Katara played with her mitten, deciding that when she left to become a warrior she would leave her hair down, or better yet, cut it short and wear it as a Warrior's Wolf-tail.

It didn't seem fair. Her mother didn't braid her hair, only the little girls and Gran-Gran. Katara wined; a pitiful little sound, and then she felt her braid drop to her back. She turned to Gran-Gran who was putting the comb away, and smiled.

"Finally!"

Just as she jumped up to rush outside, she felt a bony hand on her wrist.

"Child, do you know why I weave your hair everyday?"

The truth was, she didn't know. She didn't know why Gran-Gran called her Child instead of Katara, either, but she would much rather go out and play than listen.

"Sit and I shall tell you." Noticing the look Katara shot her, she added, "You need to know."

"There are three different locks of hair used to braid. (Katara nodded) They each represent something- the first is family (Katara nodded, thinking of Sokka playing outside) the second is spirit (Katara nodded, thinking of her fighting spirit itching to play with the boys) and the third is love. (This time her head was still)."

"And I weave them together, into a future, a destiny, a braid."

Katara fingered her braid. "But Gran-Gran, my destiny is to become a fighter!"

The woman chuckled. "More than you'll ever know, child."

"Gran-Gran, why doesn't Mama wear a braid?"

"Because she gave those things up a long time ago." Katara scrunched up her face, and Gran-Gran looked very sad. "Most women do. They give up their family and their spirit for the love of a man, and marriage, and a family of their own."

"…But, you still wear a braid?"

"Yes," Gran-Gran was smiling again. "Your Grandfather knew that I wasn't prepared to give anything up, just gain him as something more."

"Don't worry, I'm never gonna give nothing up for a stupid boy!"

"Your destiny shall decide. Oh, and speaking of destiny, will you tell Sokka to come in here, I need to talk to him about a fishing trip."

"But why? He's only nine; it'll be ages until he's allowed to go fishing."

"Yes, well it may take ages to convince him to bring you along."

Katara beamed. "Gee, thanks Gran-Gran! Wow, a real fishing trip- just like the boys!"

"Alright, child, now get a move on it. And don't forget to come back here for your weaving; same time tomorrow."

"Sure, sure, I'll be right back with Sokka."

Gran-Gran fidgeted with her mittens as she watched her granddaughter leaving the tent.

_**Note: **__Wah- what the heck was this about?_

_Yeah, I don't know either. Okie dokie, I'm working on a sequel to this one about that game of war, and another one about Katara, and another one about dolls, and about a jillion request in one, including, yes, a ZUTARA! Don't freak out, but I have to try it, plus it was a request, how can I pass it up? I'm not converting to Zutara, just writing a little drabble._

_Okaaaaaay, so this was an idea I had about braids that turned out way different and kind of suckish, but I haven't posted, and I promise this next one won't be about little Sokka and Katara, and I'll try to update other things! _


	52. Gyatso: Days Like These

Gyatso recalls his time on earth, even though he is dead.

Memories are on thing the Spirit World can't take away from him. He recalls many different things- some are knowledgeable (dates, scrolls, famous monks, lessons) and some are silly afternoons spent with Aang (the kind that are so much more important).

Forgetting the bad things, perhaps, was the hardest thing for him to do. One of the very wonderful things about being a monk was when you left this that world; you knew where you were going. You also let go of earthly possessions, so there was nothing to miss.

But carried with you (hiding- usually, inside the sleeves of robes or creasing forehead wrinkles) were the things you thought you let go off long ago. The bad things. Memories, mostly, of events or situations rather forgotten.

In time (how much time, he did not know, for it wasn't measured in the Spirit World) he wouldn't think of these things. They would disappear completely, and all that is left are breezy afternoons and pastries.

But today was different. A day like today came around only once in a while, and how he knew exactly when was unsure to him. It would just hit him- the feeling, that feeling- and he would know that back on earth a new day has begun; the anniversary of his death. The slaughter, the crumbling of the temples.

The falling of the towers.

He had been teaching, that day. Giving a lecture to some of the students about the Avatar (how it killed him inside to talk of Aang this way). When the lecture was over, he had retreated to Aang's room (why, he wasn't exactly sure) and sat down on the old bed.

He did this often, but today Gyatso knew he _needed_ to be there, for some reason he was needed.

The old monk leaned across the bed and rested his head on the sill of the window, as the boy had done so many times in the past. He looked out across the temple, from this room there was a good view of the playgrounds (Gyatso came to regret this fact) and few of the mountains, and even the scared part of the temple where the Avatar statues were held.

But that's not why Gyatso loved this room so. This window offered the perfect view (perhaps the best in the entire temple) of a cluster of large decorated towers. Possibly one of the most important places in this mountain range, many important meetings and all important lectures were held there. The towers were very busy- what with the bison stables located on the bottom floor, the large reflection pool for meditation, and many monks scurrying in and out all day long.

Gyatso was watching the sun set between the towers when he saw them. Mixing with the red of the setting sun, the army marched over the mountains and curved upward toward the temple.

Gyatso had been raised in the temple. It was the first time he ever saw a Fire bender before.

Some rode purposely on rhinos, other marched ahead (rather unsteadily) by foot- but the thing that caught his eye was the machines. Large, metal, unlike anything, they clawed up the mountain side, destroying plants and rocks and even people.

Gyatso didn't know if these metal things worked on their own. He didn't know if someone operated it, or if it was alive, or if it knew the destruction it caused. Gyatso couldn't blame the machines.

But the people; they were all too aware of what they were doing.

He recalls not being afraid, not for himself at least. It was almost as if he was dreaming- he didn't quite care what happened so long as he woke up.

But then they hit the towers. Those lovely towers that stood proud for as long as he could remember, the ones he had grown up in, the ones others were growing up in right now.

And he was suddenly very afraid. He was afraid for all the people inside those structures, for they would surely be crushed if not burned to death first. Gyatso saw the master Airbenders doing all they could to get the children out to safety.

All they could was not enough.

That day Gyatso had watched too many children (ones that looked like Aang) die. A speck in the distance would be hanging from a window, and then the speck would jump. It was easier to tell himself that, when the speck landed with a splat on the ground, it was a bug, and not a human child.

And those who survived the fall of the towers were immediately killed by a Fire bender or those retched machines. The machines that ripped up the ground, and the trees, and the temple, and the towers, and the people.

_At least_, Gyatso thought as the Fire bender slammed open Aang's door and grabbed him, _at least they cannot rip up the wind._

And although Gyatso was just a tired old man, he fought hard that day for those who died that weren't.

_At least_, he thinks, as they bring him into a room preparing to slaughter him and the others, _they can't rip the wind._

_They can't take my wind_- are an old man's last thoughts, as the breeze around them begins to pick up.

And he finds himself in this world, this Spirit World, once again reliving the experiences.

Yes, the bad memories never really leave, but you can try to turn them good.

It's days like these, Gyatso recalls even though he is dead, when he most enjoys telling others about the hope of Aang, child, Avatar, and the very last Airbender.

_**Note:**__ I didn't mean to offend anyone by this, it's just my way to get out some sadness for today- September 11._

_Sweet dreams, friends, and remember- days like these are bad, but you can try to turn them good._


	53. Kataang: Earthly Sense

So he has to let go of all earthly attachments.

Okay, easy enough.

The images flow through him; images of the things he needs to leave behind. Aang finds it surprisingly easy to watch so many things leave; money, his staff, the bison whistle- he didn't own much in the first place.

But then Katara flashes through his mind, and Aang experiences what can only be described as a brain fart.

What? None of this made sense, why would he have to give up Katara? He was only supposed to let go or earthly attachments, right?

And the Guru explains to him that he's much too attached to her, and in order to master the Avatar State and save the world he has to let her go.

But that's not how Aang sees it. To him, Katara isn't an earthly attachment at all. She more like water, or the ocean; slipping and sliding and rolling and folding and crashing and always so close, so big, so _right there_, but impossible to get a hold of.

She's not tied to the earth at all- quite the opposite. She doesn't need the earth like Toph, or prefer it like Sokka. Aang would know- he's taken her riding on Appa a thousand times.

No, Katara hardly ever touches the earth at all. She'd rather be in the ocean, or riding Appa, or way up floating with the moon. She'd rather be bouncing on clouds or swinging from stars or ripping through the skies on a glider. She grew up on the ice; on the water.

When Aang thinks of Katara, the word earthy never even crosses his mind.

Maybe that's why he didn't think twice about leaving the Guru behind- because none of it made sense. Come to think of it, neither did the Avatar State. What did make sense, though, was Katara (or as much sense as a girl could make) and right now she needed him.

And the feeling of needing her back, well, that made all the sense in the world.

So now he has to go get Sokka and find Toph so they can rescue Katara and gather an army in time for the Day of Black Sun where they'll invade the Fire Nation and he'll have to defeat Fire Lord Ozai and overthrow the Fire Nation in order to end the war and save the world all without the use of the Avatar State.

Okay, easy enough.

_**Note:**__ Oh, goodness, don't we all love overwhelming people by sticking all of Aang's duties to the world into one run-on sentence._

_Pssh, another finale drabble. And uh-oh, I heard that the Season 3 premier got some baaaad reviews…_

_Thanks for reading!--- -Sweet dreams, ya'll! _


	54. Sokka and Katara: The Game of War

It was all a game.

A very popular game that the boys of the Southern Water Tribe would group together and play every morning, sometimes lasting until lunch and continued afterwards to dinnertime.

It didn't really have a name. Katara called it the Game of War, and some of the other boys called it Battle, while parents and the oldest boys called it training.

Either way, Sokka thought it was the most fun he'd ever had. All guys, all fighting, all adrenaline. Sometimes the men of the Tribe would watch, and there were plenty of times when someone would come up to him and say how _"special you are, you're going to do some great things, Sokka."_

It didn't really have any rules. The only thing that was mandatory was to have two teams (they didn't have to be even- in real life they almost never were).There was also the unspoken rule of 'No Girls Allowed', but if Gran-Gran ever figured that one out, she'd have their heads.

A few years ago, for the first time in history, the second (unspoken) rule was broken. By Katara. She snuck in during all the fighting, all the chaos, and played the game with the rest of them. Sokka was actually surprised to find that this new fighter was his sister. When someone knocked her down she didn't cry, and she gave some heavy blows despite her size.

She was _good_.

But she caused outrage. Sure, she was good, but she was also a girl, and she wasn't allowed to play! She was only nine!

But Hakoda had seen her play. Hakoda and Gran-Gran and Bato had seen her play, and seen that light in her eyes that left when her mother died. And it was Hakoda (one of the most respected warriors) who made a new rule.

No girls are allowed to play- except Katara.

Gran-Gran was only informed of the second part.

So it started. The boys were always meaner to Katara (they were just sour that a girl was better than them) and made her be on the Fire Nation side. The losing team.

No matter how many people played, no matter how long the battle lasted, no matter how hard the 'Fire Nation' tried, the Water Tribe always won. That was the third rule.

It wasn't so bad, either. The kids preferred it this way, actually. They took turns, one day you'd be Water Tribe, the next you're Fire Nation. Everyone liked to see the Fire Nation fall, even if it was their team that day.

Even Katara enjoyed her loss; everyday, in fact, seeing as how they never let her be the Water Tribe.

Sometimes, if there were enough kids they'd create an Earth Kingdom team (they mocked Katara for weeks that time she suggested a team for the Air Nomads) but everyone liked the Water Tribe the best.

And it was played like this for years and years. The Game of War never ended; there was always anther battle to be fought.

Everyone was courageous in battle; it was kind of like a code of honor, mainly because of the fact that they weren't actually supposed to physically hurt each other. Kids came home with cuts and bruises anyway.

And everyone knew (though no one dared to say anything out loud) about the time during that one game where the boomerang was headed straight for Katara's head, and would've left her with a nasty bump if Sokka hadn't knocked it out of the way first. Or about that time Katara fell down and Sokka helped her up, even though it was one of his teammates who'd knocked her down in the first place. Everyone knew that the little one on the battlefield was Sokka's sister, even if no one said it.

But there was a day when everything changed.

The men went off to war (Katara had bitterly noticed no women went with them), and left the rest of the village alone. The Game of War lost many players ('_kinda like in real life,_' Sokka thinks) but the remaining children, for the sake of hope, for the sake of pretending nothing changed, kept playing. For a while, at least.

A day passes.

Sokka goes out to round up the boys; Katara doesn't feel like playing.

A week passes.

Katara is playing again, she's hitting and hurting with a ferocity she never had before. Sokka notices, and he knows she knows. He also knows she's beyond caring.

A month passes.

Word comes from the men overseas, and it doesn't sound good. They've been defeated in another battle, many wounded- a young man dead.

Sokka blocks another boomerang, Katara takes a time-out to cry.

A year passes.

No word from the men in far too long a time. The worst is feared.

The rules have changed. Katara isn't speaking often, and Sokka and the other boys worry about things too big for their age. On this day, the one-year anniversary of the day the men departed, for the first time in the history of The Game of War, the Fire Nation's team wins.

Everyone takes a time-out to cry.

_**Note:**__ Lately dreams seem to far off and hard to reach…_


	55. Aang: Headed for Hell

The adrenaline rushed through him- it was like fire in his veins, fire instead of blood, and if you cut him up he'd burn instead.

And it was fast- that's one thing he remembers. One thing after another, zero to sixty, faster than running or flying or falling, and he was standing still.

He just wanted to move. He was going to pop- and he knew it. A few more minutes like this and he would absolutely blow up, all the energy would just explode out of him.

He couldn't control it any longer- and he didn't want to. He wanted to jump and dance and scream and throw his excitement out of him. He wanted it out and all around him, burning and screaming and growing. Growing and spreading.

Everything he was experiencing, it was pure _feeling_. He couldn't tag it as happiness or sadness (it was too wild to be tagged) - he could only feel it. Speeding- he was speeding through the energy.

He wanted to cry. Whether for happiness or sadness he wasn't sure, but he wanted to cry, and then smile, and smile, and smile until he was spinning in circles. Most of all, he wanted to run. He wanted to feel this speed, and to run as fast as he could and jump and twist and release this energy, but at the moment he couldn't move.

It wouldn't let him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Well I believe the world is burning to the ground_

_Oh well, I guess we're gonna find out_

_Let's see how far we've come_

_Let's see how far we've come_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It wouldn't let him move- he had to keep it all inside. And for those agonizing, wonderful moments he felt the energy bubbling, growing, growing, and spreading and bubbling over.

And then he blew.

It exploded out of him- he had no control, and it was fast. And he loved it. He smiled and smiled and spun in circles, the energy following, flowing like water, only much, much faster. Much more _alive._

He danced with it, he was pumped, he was so- happy, he supposed. Happy, and on edge, and no where near the safeness he usually felt with nature. This was danger. This was exciting.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Well I believe it all is coming to an end_

_Oh well, I guess we're gonna pretend_

_Let's see how far we've come_

_Let's see how far we've come_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And it was perfect. Everything was perfectly perfect, because he had stopped hesitating and plunged into headfirst.

This is how it was supposed to be- how it was always destined to be.

There was fire all around him, it radiated back on him and poured out of his hands and his heart. There was so much fire, too much fire, fire like blood, but it still wasn't enough.

Aang thinks if he died right now, if the world up and ended, it would be okay. It the fire burned him and cooked him and ate him and swallowed him whole, he'd be just fine because he had bended it. He had _lived_ it.

But then he looks to the side and sees Katara; and the fire is burning her, and it's cooking her and eating her and swallowing her hands whole, and he feels himself die inside.

Right along with the fire.

The second he sees the tears on her face it's all over, and the fire dies (along with his heart) and he jumps of the rock and onto the bank, where she is crumpled.

Aang's veins hold blood instead of fire as he watches Katara run from his touch.

And his world ends.

_**Note:**__ I wish I was a Firebender._

_Anywho, I have writer's block, so there's a reason this sucks. I'm just so in love with this song (Let's See How Far we've Come, by Matchbox 20) and it is like my anthem for the weekends._

_Thanks for reading, I've been having a tough time lately, and I'd really like to thanks alphabeticalescape and Invaderk for helping me through some of it. You people are just too nice for your own good!_

_And in this title, "Headed for Hell" is a part of the song, and I mean this in no offensive terms, seeing as how I am a full-blown Christian. It just goes nicely with the story, and any other title wouldn't have the same effect._

_Sweet dreams, friends. I feel blessed to know you._


	56. Toph: Really the Greatest

**r e a ll y - the - g r e a t e s t**

She had thought her mom had forgiven her, she really had.

Katara read her the letter, and she had traveled to the address, and then there was metal all around her.

Metal. She didn't know where she was, or what was going on, and she was scared and confused, but Toph Bei Fong was mostly heartbroken.

So, that was it. It had been a trap. Her mother hadn't accepted her, and now she was being taken away by something; someone.

It wasn't until the panging in her chest died down did the de ja vou begin.

She had been here before. At first Toph thought her memory was triggered by that horrid feeling of betrayal and weakness, but no… it was the box.

This metal prison, she had been here before. Yes, back when she first met Aang, they had been captured in metal cages just like these!

And suddenly it all hit her. She knew who was doing this- she knew her mother was a part of it- and she knew they were taking her back home.

Toph could hear the men talking (they sounded suspiciously familiar) and she heaved a mental sigh. Suppose this is really it? This is what she gets for trusting her mom once, for trusting her family. Stuck in a metal cage. How absolutely wonderful.

She just about gave up right there, she really did.

But then she remembered Sokka. She remembered Sokka and Aang and Katara and Ba Sing Se and The Day of Black Sun and the entire war. She remembered how she is a teacher, a friend, how she is needed.

Toph remembers how she is supposed to be the Greatest Earthbender in the world, and that stops her for giving up entirely.

But that still didn't mean she had hope.

So as Toph thinks of a plan (and she really doesn't feel like thinking too hard, or else the sadness of her situation will finally sink in) she feels around her confinements.

She is blind. She has been all her life, but standing in this metal cage makes her realize (for perhaps one of the first times) how handicapped that makes her. She can't see _anything. _So she runs her hand along the walls, searching for an escape.

Perhaps there is a crack. Perhaps there is a hole in the metal that manufacturers overlooked, a crease that wasn't properly fastened, a loose hinge that with the right amount of twisting and tinkering will come loose.

Toph sweeps her hands across the cage until it's simply habit, an absent-minded task. Arms bend this way, fingers trace that, Toph stomps her foot to loosen any bolts.

And while her hand runs across the wall behind her, she is thinking of Sokka. She is wondering if he's with his father right now, telling him about Aang and the training with the Guru, and about their plans to save the world.

Toph wonders if he speaks of her.

Because Sokka- wait, what was that? It wasn't much of anything, but it was _something_, and it was there.

Toph's hands rocket back to the back wall, rubbing around until it happens again. There- that fleck, she can _see_ it. It illuminates like a star against the night, but Toph doesn't know what the stars look like. To Toph, this illuminated fleck means one thing and one thing only- earth!

She can feel it vibrating inside the metal. It hums softly, and she keeps her hand there on that spot, thanking the spirits above. The humming continues to grow louder, until Toph knows that the noise is coming from every direction, above her, below her, all around her.

Her arms continue their sweeping, desperately this time. She knows the Earth is there, now it's just the matter of finding it. But running her hands along the metal isn't helping, and Toph knows.

And she feels the anger welling up inside her, and the frustration, and the longing for sight, for more of those flecks.

So she slams the cage.

And there, right in front of her, the lights explode. They dance like fireflies, and Toph runs her hands along them greedily, taking in there vibrations. Pebbles, every one of them, but oh so much better than the empty metal. Soon Toph's arms are acting on their own, and they are tracing the vibrations to places, and stomping and hitting and slamming until she can see all around her.

The metal contains many more pebbles than she thought. They are close together, and covering the entire cage to the point where she can feel the vibrations coming from all directions, and she feels it in her bones. It's almost like being underground. In fact, it is like being underground.

And that was the first time the thought landed in her head. _I bend earth_, Toph thinks to herself, _and there is earth in metal. So, I bend metal._

And she got some hope.

So she starts slamming away at the walls, feeling the vibrations and hearing the humming and seeing those lights until up goes to down and she doesn't even know where she is anymore.

And her hope slowly slides through her fingers when the cage doesn't move.

One last, valiant attempt courses through her, and she pushes with all her might. Her voice is strained, and she's not even sure if she's speaking aloud. "C'mon metal, budge!"

And with one last slam (much like the very first one that showed her the pebble) the wall collided with her fist, and she left a nasty dent.

"Toph- you rule."

And she did.

So she escapes, and locks her two kidnappers inside the cage (she hopes it's so dark that they feel blind) using her new found skill, and then takes of back toward Ba Sing Se on some giant mounds of dirt.

If someone didn't know who she was, they'd think she's crazy. But if they know her, then they know she's just Toph.

Yeah, just Toph. A tomboy. A teacher. A friend. The world's greatest Earthbender.

And even though all those things sound so nice, she can't help but doubt herself. Sometimes being the 'world's greatest' doesn't mean anything if your mom isn't even proud of you. Perhaps 'just Toph' shouldn't be who she is right now. What if she should be a good little girl instead, like mommy always asked for, and 'just Toph' should be a girl with proper manners and an obedient daughter.

What if she had gotten it all wrong? What if she was never supposed to escape and her destiny was supposed to be fulfilled at home, where there was no bending (metal or earth) allowed past beginner levels? What if she should run away, but this time not from home, but from her friends?

Normally her hearing is exceptional. Normally, Toph could hear Aang or Sokka sneaking up on her from a mile away, much less Appa flying straight for her.

But this was not normally, and the circumstances didn't allow time for hearing.

Normally Toph wouldn't have fallen over in surprise when she heard Sokka's voice, but this time she had decided to run away, and she never thought she'd hear that voice again.

Toph doesn't know what to do as she rides back to Ba Sing Se, this time with Aang, Sokka, and Appa. She doesn't know if she should stay with her friends, or run away back home, or maybe go find a mountain someplace where she could hide forever, away from war and destruction and big decisions.

Toph is just plain confused, she really is.

And even though her head is still messed up, her ego is not, and Toph decides that until she can come to a decision about her life, no one else is to figure out about these doubts. She is to remain the tough, rock-like person she always is, until she is sure of what to do, and sure of herself.

But she allows herself to hang onto Sokka's arm with the excuse she's afraid of flying.

After Aang is hit with lighting, and after the Earth Kingdom has fallen, and after the whole world seems to be ending, Toph decides that she can't leave now. She needs to stay, and forget her doubts, and her fears, and her needs, and ignore the way she feels to focus on the way her friends feel.

At first, she though it would be hard to pretend she was a rock, but she found that she got used to it.

Because Toph really is the Greatest Earthbender in the world, she really is.

_**Note:**__ Sorry, no time to proof-read, I have to go to bed._

_I know some things will be off because I haven't seen the finale in a while, but bear with me people._

_And remember, your reviews are the only things that get me up in the morning._

_This was written for StroodleDoodledFuhn, because she came up with this great idea and asked me to write it. She also helped a whole lot; this story is just as much mine as it is hers. Thanks so much, StroodleDoodledFuhn! I hope you like it!_

_Sweet dreams, my friends. May the Lord be with you._


	57. Sokka: Facade

**f a c a d e**

It was a brilliant plan; no doubt about it.

There was no way they'd be able to take down those ships, no matter ho hard they tried. Ambushing one and capturing it, though, that was quite doable.

Sokka was proud of the plan as they snuck on to the ship. As he knocked down the Firebenders and stole their clothing, he reveled in his cunning. And as they sailed away, unnoticed by the rest of the Fire Navy Fleet, well, he was just plain bragging.

So I guess you could say things were going pretty good. They were with Hakoda, Aang was still breathing, Toph wasn't complaining about lack of sight, and everyone told Katara she's looked swell in that Fire Nation Cloak.

"Here, son" Hakoda said, handing Sokka a bundle of the fallen Firebernders' clothing. "Put this on, so we can stay undercover."

Yessir, a brilliant plan.

Sokka had no problem slipping on the red pants (they were actually quite comfortable) and he had to admit the shirt was rather flattering. He liked the way the topknot covered the sides of his head, and he concluded it made things a whole lot warmer.

But when it came to the helmet, all Sokka could think about was the young Fire Nation soldier who had killed his mother. He remembered Katara screaming, and his mom bleeding, and the man (he couldn't have been older than sixteen) with that helmet, and the mask that looked just like a skull.

Sokka became very acquainted with skeletons the weeks following the raid.

He remembers the look on his sister's face, and the death that over took his mother's, and he remembers demanding for the man to take off his helmet so he could see the face of his mother's murderer.

The mask remained firmly in place.

And now, here he is, looking at the world from the same two eyeholes.

It's all just a disguise, he reminds himself. I'm a Water Tribe Warrior, and I'm in this war to save lives, not take them. There's a human behind this mask.

But, after a long time in these Fire Nation clothes and on this Fire Navy ship and in these Fire Nation waters and living under this damned Fire Nation helmet, sometimes Sokka forgets who he is.

Sometimes Sokka thinks he's the Fire Nation man who was at the raid, and who killed his mother, and he sees the whole thing from a different angle. He sees it all from behind his skeleton mask, where he doesn't really kill anyone, not really. He strikes down that Water Tribe woman out of self-defense, she was coming straight for him, but even if none of this was his fault, he can't help but feel sorry for the little girl and boy who sit and cry by her side.

But when he took the helmet off he was back to being regular Sokka, with sarcasm and meat and a head full of ideas.

Still, on the Day of Black Sun, that skeleton mask makes striking down all those Fire Nation soldiers (they couldn't have been older than sixteen) a little bit harder.


	58. Child: My Walls

_- my walls -_

My Grammy is sick.

Daddy says she had s special kind of disease that makes her forget things, and that there isn't a cure. He says that's why sometimes she can't remember my name, or who Mommy is. Daddy says it isn't her fault, but he didn't tell me whose fault it _is_.

Mommy says that's why we had to come to Ba Sing Se. They have good hospitals here, and they will be able to take care of Grammy much better than we can. She says that Grammy is old, and old people get sick all the time, so I shouldn't be sad. Mommy wants me to be extra nice to Daddy, though, because she said seeing Grammy sick is very hard for him.

I ain't never seen my Daddy cry before.

Well, that was before Ba Sing Se. I've seen Daddy cry once since we've been in the city. It was that one night when I told him that everything would be okay, and that when Grammy doesn't remember who he is, I will.

That made Daddy cry harder.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I never cry about Grammy in front of Mommy and Daddy, only at night, when I'm alone. I always tell Grammy I love her, like Mommy wants me to (even on the days I hate her for making us move to this city).

Mommy says she needs to be strong for Daddy when I ask her why she never cries (not about Grammy, at least). Mommy is a very strong lady, and she kept her promise very well. Only time I've seen her cry since then is when the big walls crashed down.

Mommy always told me that Ba Sing Se's walls were all around me to keep me safe, kind of like how Daddy's arms come around me when he is trying to protect me. When those men in green flew up to the top, and brought them crashing down, Mommy cried a whole lot, and Daddy put his arms around me.

I don't understand why we can't go to the teashop anymore, or why we have to take a different route to the hospital when we visit Grammy. One that is far, far away from the Earth King's Palace. I don't understand why those big metal animals roam the streets, or why Mommy doesn't let me pet any of those rhinos, but I learned not to ask.

Someone always cries when I ask.

Mommy won't let me play outside anymore. She says it's because she wants to spend more time with me, but I know it's really 'cause she's scared of those men in green. The ones that sit on the rhinos, and drive those big metal animals, and crashed the walls to the ground.

I didn't want to come to this city in the first place! I liked it just fine in our little village where everyone knew each other and got along. There weren't any walls to break, or hospitals to walk to, or men who scare my mom.

Sometimes I watch the men in green march around from the hospital window. Mommy and Daddy insist on me coming, even though there's no reason anymore.

But yesterday was different. Yesterday, I wanted to come.

I went to the hospital because I didn't want to go home. I was sick of home, it was too sad. So I went the only other place I knew; Grammy's hospital room. Once I got there, I didn't really know what to say. She just kind of lied there, looking all sick and confused.

So I decided to tell her about the walls. 'They fell, Grammy' I said, 'Ba Sing Se's big walls, those Green Men broke them'. I don't know what I expected her to say; I didn't think she'd cry, but I didn't want her to be angry, either.

I sure wasn't expecting what I got. Well, she wasn't sad. She never cried, and she never yelled or got mad either. She just looked at me with those vacant eyes of hers and said 'What walls?'

I guess that was the first time I ever saw how much that disease affected her; it was also the last time I saw Grammy.

After that I knew she was going to die. She just kind of smiled at me, and asked 'Who are you, again, and why are you talking about these walls?'

Then she sighed a little, and closed her eyes.

That's when I started screaming. Or wait, did I scream afterward? I can't remember exactly, I just know that she closed her eyes and I started screaming (I don't know how I knew; I just _did_) and nurses started flooding in.

A nurse picked me up and carried me out of the hospital that day. She told me to hush up when I kept screaming, and it was only after I stopped did I realize my screams had formed into words.

Angry, hateful words I yelled at Grammy for making us move to this dreadful city in the first place… and for forgetting who I was. I started crying after that, and it was a while before I could gather the strength to walk back home.

And suddenly I wished my Daddy was there crying with me, and his arms were around me, because the city walls were not.

That night I didn't feel like talking to anyone. Mommy tried to soothe me, and Daddy said these things just happen. They told me she's in a better place now.

Sometimes I wish I was in a better place, too. Mommy and Daddy said that Ba Sing Se was the better place, and that we'd be safe and happy. They said the walls would keep us safe.

Not anymore.

Tonight, I would rather forget. Tonight, I saw my Daddy cry, and my Mommy cry, and Grammy die. Tonight, I find the shiniest star in the sky and wish with all my heart that one day I'll get that disease that makes you forget, so I won't have to remember all these horrible things, and one day I'd be able to say, 'What walls?'.

My Grammy isn't sick no more, but I think this world sure is.

- - -

_**Note:**__ Oh man, you guys…_

_So… my grandma is sick. And my grandpa. The former has alztimers (I actually have no idea how this is spelled) and she doesn't know what's going on. My daddy… I saw him cry for the first time last night. And it was my fault…see, I just kept asking, and then… he just started crying._

_I feel awful, and so scared! I'm just a kid! I don't know what to do! Everyone around me has been so kind, especially my Science and Language teachers. I…I just… well, I know there isn't much any of you can do, and it's enough to ask you to just read my stories, but please… if anyone has any advice, PM me. I really need it right now._

_As for the stroy, since i'm mostly opposed to original characters, let's say this is the little girl who's doll was named Ms. Pretty._

_Thank you all so much._

_Sweet dreams, friends. It's in God's hands. _


	59. Zuko: A Drag

a- - - _d r a g_

Zuko was sulking in his room after the incident.

His mother left. She had got up and left him in the middle of the night, and he was so tired, so confused, that he didn't even get up to stop her.

Of course, that was weeks ago. Maybe even months; Zuko had lost track. All he'd been doing (with the exception of his Grandfather's funeral) was sitting in his room, in the dark, in the last place he saw her.

Occasionally he would wander forlornly over to the turtle-duck pond, just to sit and think. Well, that was his excuse, but the real reason was he knew that Uncle spent a lot of time over there, and he could use some advice.

But, just his luck, it seemed that this time there was just no advice to give. On rainy afternoons Iroh would come sit next to the boy, although (for perhaps one of the first times) he had no fancy proverbs hidden up his sleeve.

What could you say? A boy's mother had just run away, and there was no news as to if she was even alive! No one knew what to say.

It seemed Zuko was the only one with this problem, though. His father was determined not to talk to him, thinking it was somehow Zuko's fault, and Azula bounced back quickly, and would tease him about being a mama's boy if he ever got to crying.

So today, as he sulked in his room, the boy decided he might as well go out to the pond, for perhaps Uncle was there.

But when he arrived in the courtyard, to his horror, Zuko realized that instead of his kindly Uncle sitting by the pond, three girls littered the yard.

His sister. His sister and her stupid friends… that ditzy little pink one, and the dark girl who he used to sweat around.

Zuko knew he couldn't turn back now. The girls had already seen him, and if he was to leave they'd think him to be a coward. So he marched proudly forward (placidly trying to ignore the never-leaving slump in his step from his heavy heart weighing him down) and sat down on the other end of the pond.

Zuko swears it happens in slow motion. Azula leans over to her idiots and whispers something, and they all laugh. Then they begin to amble toward him, and Zuko feels himself shrink back a little.

"Sooo… Zuzu" Azula draws out, towering over him instead of sitting down.

"Azula" he mutters, not amused by their cruelty.

"Still heart sick about Mumsy leaving us, I see. Really, Zuko, if Father sees your behavior, I think he'd find _another_ one of his children more fit for the throne." Azula laughs, and as if on cue, the other two giggle along, although Ty Lee's face is sad, and there's a blush in Mai's cheeks.

"Come on girls, we shouldn't stay around him for too long, or else he might get all mopey-wopey when we leave… he gets much too attached to things."

She might as well have spit in his face.

And as Mai and Azula trot off, Ty Lee hangs back for a moment. She looks at him with those sad, brown eyes, and leans over toward him quickly.

"I know you're upset" she whispers, but with a bit of urgency, eyes darting back to Azula "'Cause I was sad once, too, you know."

He didn't know (he wouldn't have guessed in a million years) but he nodded anyway. Zuko wanted to ask her why she was sad, and how she got over it, but he found the words just wouldn't come.

"It's real hard to hurt inside, Zuko. But sometimes it's harder not to hurt. Being sad is a drag; it really is." Then she smiles, and pulls back. "Think about it."

And with that Ty Lee bounces off.

_Think about it_, she tells him, and as he sits in front of the pond gazing at the turtle ducks, he does. And after a while of thinking, one thing is made perfectly clear.

Zuko likes Ty Lee more than a proverb.


	60. Smellerbee: So I'm Kinda in Love I Guess

So, I'm kind of in love, I guess.

Never mind; love is such a stupid, sappy word. Let's just say that whenever Longshot comes around I get a kind of fluttery feeling in my stomach, and I lose my balance a little, and he makes me nervous, but I still want to be around him all the time. That's not really love… its, erm… like.

So, I'm kind of in like with Longshot.

It's not like a want to be, okay! So before you go all _'I knew she'd turn soft, Smellerbee is such a girl'_ kind of thing, let me tell you, I didn't wake up one morning and decide to feel this way. Sometimes I even try to stop it, but it's no use… plus, the feeling isn't so bad… I mean, it's kind of, well, nice.

Even though it kills me on the inside.

Especially the times I'm almost positive he feels the same way. He hangs out with me the most out of anyone, and sometimes he'll stare at me for a long time without blinking. Longshot has to go and drop all these little hints, and make me think that for a fraction of a second I actually have a… well, a shot with him. Then the second is over, and the arrow's flown and hit the target, and reality crashes back down onto me, and that's about when I realize that _I'm not pretty_ and there's no way he'd pick me out of any other girl.

Too bad I've already picked him.

But for now, I guess being best friends will have to be enough. I'm really not to sure how I feel about him myself (but it's not _love_, extreme like, but not love) at this point, but here's a few things I do know.

Longshot's favorite color is green. Not blue. Not red. But green like the forests and the grass and the hummingbirds. He's never told anyone, but I can tell by the way he looks at the fields in springtime.

Longshot loves to fight. Not just physically, but mentally, too. He doesn't speak, but he can argue with that face of his, and I've seen it- in fact, I've been a victim! Those sharp features of his cut deeper than any knife I've ever known.

Longshot's birthday is the seventeenth of the first month of fall. I always remember because as the leaves fall, so does his face, even though his body grows. "Too much war," he says, "I've seen too much." I wish I had enough courage to tell him that _I know- I've seen it all, too, because I was right by your side._

Longshot loves his family. Never mind that love's a sappy word, he doesn't care. Sometimes Jet talks about the times when it was just him and Longshot- sometimes he talks about the time they first met. Apparently there was a village, and Fire Nation soldiers that invaded, and a beautiful young girl with Longshot's height, and Longshot's face, that Jet saw burned and killed. He tells us that she was still the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, and by the look in Longshot's eye, he agrees.

And those eyes of his… they were his Father's. This, I have never heard from a story, or experienced for myself, but I just _know_. I can picture the man that was Longshot's Papa, and he had those eyes… those lovely, sharp, archer eyes…

_Am I in love?_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_I could tell you his favorite color's green_

_  
He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth_

_  
His sister's beautiful; he has his father's eyes  
_

_And if you asked me if I love him_

_  
I'd lie_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**Note:**__ So, it's late, and I'm listening to "I'd Lie" by Taylor Swift, and thinkin' bout unrequited love, and I decided to write this. Is it any good?_

_Was this any better, Hello-lovely? I'll keep on tryin' till I get it right!_


	61. Kataang: Laugh it Off

_--laugh it off--_

The first time Aang told Katara that he loved her was the night after Kyoshi Island. Every dusk Sokka would tell Katara, "goodnight, sweet dreams, I love you" and she would say the same back. Aang saw that it made her happy… but he didn't quite understand why when he would say it, Sokka and Katara just laughed it off.

The first time Aang saw Katara in her underclothes he made a comment about her hairy legs. She took it offensively (although he had no idea _why_) and the next time they went swimming he noticed her legs were smooth as silk, and his bottle of authentic Nomad shaving cream was that much lighter.

The first time Aang gave Katara a flower, a beetle-hornet flew out of it and stung Sokka. It turns out that he was allergic, and swelled up to the size of Appa. The red rash developing on Sokka's skin was almost as dark as Aang's cheeks when Katara told him she thought the flower was beautiful, anyway.

The first time Katara saw Aang's flute, she begged him to play a song for her. He played the only tune he could remember, which turned out to be a lullaby Katara's grandfather used to sing to her and Sokka before he died in the war. Aang sure didn't mean to make Katara cry.

The first time Aang entered a real Earth Rumble contest, Katara cheered for him the whole time (so did Sokka, except when he was up against the Boulder). She assured him he could've won, too, if Toph hadn't gone on _right before_ him and waggled her awesomeness all over. Aang thinks the attention he gets from Katara for losing is better than a shiny trophy.

The first time Aang danced with Katara there was no real music, but she had just looked _so lovely_ standing there in the moonlight. They were both surprised when Sokka "woke up" (he doesn't sleep until they do) and he began to beat a rhythm on a nearby log. By the time Toph started humming along, they were in another world.

The last time Aang told Katara he loved her was on her deathbed. She had been shot in the back right in the same area Azula struck him years before. It was because of the placement and severity of the strike that Aang was so reminded of the weeks he had been out before the war… the weeks he had almost given Katara up. Perhaps that's the reason the last time Aang told Katara he loved her, all he could think about was that one time when he _almost didn't_.

This time no one laughed it off.

_**Note:**__ I realize that these aren't so good, but I just had to update because TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! I'm Katara's age!_

_Goodnight friends, and sweet dreams._


	62. Ty Lee: Lucky Numbers

I had seven daughters, once. Seven perfect, orderly, obedient little girls. Seven is a lucky number, don't you know?

They all looked exactly the same. Their eyes, their hair, and the clothes I dressed them in. Seven of the same dear child, with a different name. I was lucky, they were lucky… until _she _had to go and ruin it.

It was the middle one, I believe. Not the oldest, not the youngest, but the one exactly in the middle. I named her Ty Lee, meaning identical, for the fact that she had six identical twin sisters.

I named them all something that means identical, all in different languages. But Ty Lee, her language was Mandarin. She was a dear child, always so happy (they all were) but she had a problem with the clothes I would dress them in. Yes, that's where it all started.

I believe they were seven years old when the outbursts began. Instead of wearing the maroon I picked out for them every morning, Ty Lee declared she wanted something pink instead. She told me that pink was her favorite color, and she would much rather wear something that would make her stand out.

The next day when I presented her with a new pink outfit, she was ecstatic, that is, until she saw her six other sisters wearing the same thing. Apparently, she wanted to stand out from her _sisters_, not other people.

I didn't quite understand, and I most certainly didn't approve. For you see, she only _thought _she didn't like having sisters, when, in truth, she never knew the pain of being an only child as I did. I had always wished for sisters while I was growing up, so I prayed to Agni to give me twins the moment I found out I was pregnant. And he did. Seven of them. Seven is supposed to be a lucky number, don't you know?

But I suppose that seventh year was when my luck ran out. Ty Lee began ignoring orders, and when I sent the girls off to the academy, she became friends with the wrong people. Everything was about pink, pinkpinkpink and her new friends, and she would hardly spend time with her family anymore.

The only person she seemed to hold any respect for anymore was her father, and my husband, my stupid husband, decided one day he was going to take Ty Lee to the circus. Of course, he took the other children, too, but each time the pony-dragons circled the pen, he was especially ignorant to Ty Lee's waves- - for he had no idea that she was waving goodbye.

That was the last straw. And that night at dinner was the last time I had all seven of my girls together, and exactly the same. Ty Lee ran away the next day. For that stupid circus, I believe.

If it wasn't for her, the youngest wouldn't have decided to be a dancer, and the second-to-oldest wouldn't have threatened to_ run away like Ty Lee did unless you let me take firebending lessons._ Ty Lee became a sort of hero for my young girls, and inspired them to follow their dreams.

Now, I have no problems with my children's happiness. Of course I want them to follow their dreams and have their hearts full, but they didn't realize that by doing this, they were throwing out my dream of seven proper young ladies, all identical and successful and important wives, sitting next to their husbands at court meetings.

But no, they all had to go and follow their own dreams, and now I'm left alone, with only one daughter (the oldest) left. I'm oh so lonely, and even my husband can't comfort me. I take only some solstice knowing that my children are happy somewhere (I hear often of Ty Lee's amazing feats for our Nation) but it doesn't help to fill the six gaping holes in my heart.

And the one daughter I have left, the one that grew into a proper young lady, and is successful, and an important wife, and greets me sweetly at every court meeting, isn't even anything special anymore, because she had no one to be identical to.

I had seven daughters, _once_. Seven perfect, orderly, obedient little girls. I hope you're happy, Ty Lee, because seven isn't such a lucky number after all, I've come to know.

_**Note:**__ Well, here it is. I'm extremely fascinated by Ty Lee's situation; it's just so…fascinating. From the point of view of her mother._

_On a more depressing note, I believe I'm slowly loosing interest in the Avatar fandom. It's happening little by little, though I wish it wasn't, because I never ever want to stop writing fanfiction for it. I'd miss all you guys too much. Let's hope my fascination holds out until the end of the season, huh?_

_Goodnight, everyone, and I hope to hear from you all soon. Sweet dreams, friends, and may your hearts be full._


	63. Toph: A Place Called Heartbreak

Where am I?

I've never been here before…

It's dark, and it smells like sorrow. My head hurts, and my heart aches and I feel a big lump in my throat that makes me want to cry.

And this whole time I thought I was falling in love…

I guess I fell right through.

Is this what happens when the love isn't strong enough? Did I hit the ground because he doesn't love me back, and my feelings were stretched too thin? I guess one person's affections just aren't strong enough… my love alone wasn't enough to stop my heart from falling, and hitting the ground, and breaking.

I don't know what dark looks like, but I know that it's very dark where I am. It's dark, and sharp and pointy ((and if I don't step extra careful I'll trip on something and get stabbed)), but at the same time, it's incredibly dull. I've hit the bottom, fallen right through love, but this isn't rock bottom.

If it was rock bottom, I would be able to bend, and see, and it wouldn't be so dark. I would feel the earth around me ((instead of just feeling so _sad_)) and I could bend myself right up and out at back onto the solid, sturdy ground of friendship, where there's no risk of falling.

Is this a place called heartbreak?

If so, it's very slippery down here. I think I fell in after he told me my hair looked nice today. I let my guard down and practically jumped in myself. I wish I could just climb back out, but the walls are made of sheets, soft as cotton, and they wave in the cold wind and offer no places to put hands or feet. I just end up sliding back down.

I don't like it down here. I'm getting scared, and desperate. One minute I hate him for putting me down here, the next I'm begging him to come save me! Please, please just stop my pain! I just want out for a second; I just want to remember what the world felt like before I fell in love!

There's a lot of time to think down here. I can talk to people, oh sure, and they can hear me, but I'm not really there. In real life, I'm shouting from down in this hole, and even if they're sitting right in front of me they seem oh so far away.

I try to tell her about how it feels down here. _Don't worry, you're meant to be!_ she tells me, but she's not down here, she doesn't feel the cold wind and the walls closing in only to blow back out.

And is it worth it? Is the ride down so wonderful that I'd suffer everything I have to endure down here, just to hear him tell me my hair looks nice?

Yes. Yes, I would, and I did, and it won't be the first time. Truth is, I think I'd give my face to Koh if he'd come and hug me right this very second. For moments like that, I'd do just about anything.

But I shouldn't, I remind myself. Although I love him so much on the inside, I'm too afraid to show it on the outside, because if he figured out, he might turn me down. And then, then I would fall right through love, and I'd never come out.

So I have to protect my heart. I can't let him know I love him, because; let's face it, who could love me? I have to stay friends with him, even if it kills me.

Even as I promise all of this to myself, I realize that any minute now, when he walks over to me, or touches me on the arm, or calls out my name, the sheets will be torn down, and the smell of sorrow will melt away, and I'll fall in love with him again and again.

Because when I fell my heart was only cracked, and all it needs to be mended is a tiny hint at love from him.

My heart is sewn together with super-glue and paperclips, and I'm afraid that the next time I fall it'll shatter altogether. Of course, that won't keep him from walking all over it, anyway.

At least the next time I fall, I'll know where I am… and maybe it won't be as scary.

_**Note:**__ Oh no! My first boy problems, like, ever! Dear me, I'm not sure I like this whole 'teenager' thing! PM me with advice, please!_

_Oh, and I don't know if they have super-glue and paperclips in Avatar-World, but hey, it sounds cool!_

_Meant to be Tokka, interpret how you like._

_And a happy Halloween, friends. Seems I'll be spending it in a place called heartbreak._


	64. Pakku: A Thick Slice of Moon

Oh, how I loved her.

I loved her deep as the ocean, but then she left. She left down south, to the other side of the world, and she might as well have flown right up to the moon. I never thought I'd see her again.

And here I stand, on her island.

I'm sweating, even though it freezes right off. How long had it been? What if she wouldn't be happy to see me… but there was that time, that one time when I was almost so sure.

Sure that she loved me.

I suppose it's a combination of remembering that moment, and not being able to live without her that brought me to here.

I clear my throat (one part nerves, two parts not knowing how to knock politely on a tent flap) and wait for her to come show me her face. Nothing happens.

Suppose she knows it's me, and she doesn't want to come out and see me? Suppose she hates me now! Or- oh! Suppose she doesn't even remember me, and she won't recognize my old, wrinkled face- -

I duck under the tent flap before I can finish those horrible thoughts. There's a small rocking chair in the corner, with a crumpled, leathery head poking out of a bundle of furs.

"Hello…" I call, even though I see her there, plain as day.

Not a second passes before her small face turns up with a smile. "Pakku" she says. She knows.

"Kana" I reply, choking on the word.

"You remembered me" she whispers, rocking back and forth ever so slightly.

"So it would seem." I tell her. ((I could never forget))

There's a pause, and I try to say _"I met your grandchildren"_, but it comes out as "So… you had children, then?"

There's a chuckle from the within the blankets, and Kana nods. "Yes… you must have met my grandkids."

A nod from myself. "I taught Katara waterbending." ((She's just like you were))

"No" Kana says, "I taught her what I remembered from you, and she learned form the ocean, but most of all, Katara taught herself. You just finished the job."

"Yes'm" I say, and I feel like a boy again.

There's a pause, and I recall the moments from long ago, when Kana did love me.

"She's yours, you know." Kana whispers.

"I see." I say. ((I know))

"So is the boy- Sokka. He's very much like you, in some ways."

I nod again, though I feel the burning of tears behind my eyes. "Why did you leave?" I ask her. I need to know.

"I was scared. I was scared of what my father would do if he figured out I was with child before I was married, and I was scared of birthing a girl and having her grow up in a sexist world, and most of all, I was scared of you."

"I wouldn't have hurt you, you know." I told her, feeling ashamed. "Or the child."

"I know that now, Pakku" she says. "But back then, I just wasn't sure."

"So… was it worth it? Did you birth a girl?"

"Yes" she tells, me, and then she begins to cry.

"And did she grow up equal?"

"Yes" she tells me. "And then she died."

A daughter. I had a daughter ((Kana's daughter)).

I sat next to her for a very long time. I yearned to hold her, but was too afraid, just as I always was. Night settled in, and the world grew old around us.

"I love you, Kana." I tell her.

"I know" she says. "Now please, leave me alone."

So I got up, and with one more ((long)) glance back at the bundle of furs, I left.

The moon hangs heavy above me, and I walk off to build a new city, a young city that doesn't sag with sadness the way I do; she does.

_**Note: **__I love Pakku so much._


	65. Shoji: On Secrets and Keeping Them

_My Most Important Moment_

_By: __Shoji_

_I have a friend named Kuzon. He is a nice boy, and very friendly. Kuzon just wants everyone to be happy. He came from the colonies in the Earth Kingdom, and so he sometimes seems stupid, but he knows a whole lot. You can tell when you look in his eyes. Kuzon has a secret, and so does his family. Kuzon hides something… but Kuzon isn't here anymore. He ran away a few weeks ago._

_I had a grandpa named Kuzon, once. He's not here anymore, either. I guess leaving is just something guys named Kuzon do. It's alright, though, because even though he died Grandpa Kuzon is still my Grandpa, and even though he ran away Kuzon is still my friend. In fact, Kuzon reminds me of my grandpa a whole lot. It was almost like seeing him all over again._

_Maybe it was._

_I never had a big secret to keep until Kuzon came to town. Actually, it's because of Kuzon I have this secret at all. I know that the assignment was to write a paper about the most important moment of our life, but my moment just so happens to be about this very secret, and keeping it. So, because Kuzon is my friend, and because I owe it to my grandpa, I'll never tell. But, I will tell you that it has something to do with a cave, and a party, and a headband._

_This way, when Kuzon comes back, or I die and see my grandpa (whichever happens first) I'll be able to tell them how good I was at keeping this big, big secret that could change the world. And the guilt of getting a bad grade is a lot easier to deal with than the guilt of letting the whole world down, right?_

_Let's just say, Kuzon thinks so._

_**Note: **__I was sick today; I had the time. Stole the name from Invaderk- it's about the little boy who sees Toph close the wall. It's a paper for school he had to write._

_Sweet dreams, friends, may it be._


	66. Freedom Fighters: Introduction

_**((Note:**__ Don't expect this to turn into a long term project; just using a few scattered prompts for the freedomfighters. Will update this at random._

_As for the rest of my drabbles, they'll come. Not as often as they used to, but they'll come. I'm going through a very hard time right now. As some of you may know, my grandfather recently left the world._

_Regardless, Merry Christmas.))_

**Introduction**

Mostly, they all just kind of wandered into the forest. Usually Jet or Smellerbee or Longshot would be combing the woods, searching for the enemy (but they mostly found new allies; sometimes even friends) and they would stumble upon some kid who ran away from home, and they would take them back to the tree house (it wasn't always so big, you know) and tell him how all that pent up anger inside him was the Fire Nation's fault.

And that's how it happened.

Well, most of the time, anyway. There is that one exception; how Jet met Longshot. None of the other Freedom Fighters knew (sometimes Jet is sure Longshot doesn't even remember) but when they were just little kids Jet's father would deliver supplies from his store to Longshot's farm. Jet remembers seeing a tiny boy hiding just behind the outline of the cornfield.

Three years later (when the Fire Nation came and burned down the village, the shop, and even the cornfield) Jet remembered that little boy, and after all the remains of his family were lit on fire Jet runs, runs to the farm, runs to the image of the little boy sitting by a bonfire of flesh and crying, runs and scoops up the boy ("We're family now, okay?") and goes to the closest place to hide (a forest; **the** forest). He doesn't know why he did it.

But that was only once, and Jet knows things don't normally happen that way, so there's no use in talking about it (and the one other person who knows _won't_ talk about it). And that's why Jet has to be brave, and keep searching the woods for new recruits, because they all just kind of wander into the forest.

(mostly, anyway)


	67. PakkaKana: Easier to Lie

He had always loved her more than she loved him

He had always loved her more than she loved him.

She didn't know what to do about it. Of course she loved him, of course they were great friends, of course she enjoyed being with him and would love to have him around for much of her lifetime, but it was always in the back of her mind.

Soon the attachment grew worse. She began to feel a certain sinking feeling, too much love, too many hands grabbing for her _all the time._ She needed his love, no doubt, but not that much…. The guilt sunk in. She should love him more. It shouldn't feel like this. Not like she's on a leash, not like she's in a commitment.

Yet she loved him. She couldn't break it off for fear of hurting him. She couldn't take back her words; couldn't silence the already spoken.

All in all, it was easier to lie.

It was so simple; tell him you love him back, tell him you always will, smile for him while you feel the sinking feeling take you under, while you feel yourself drowning…

When the proposal was set up, everyone thought that was what she had wanted. It was a happy time for him, though no one knew her one escape. Her plan for freedom…

And one day she took off after the horizon.

It never occurred to him to take off after her.

A man stands at a grave in the ice. The body is not there, but under the small marker is a beloved necklace. The second of its kind; carved after she was gone and married and dead.

Tears freeze at the South Pole, like some hearts. Sometimes the hearts never thaw in the first place.

And the old man tries for the first time in a while to cry as he looks at the grave of his beloved lying in the snow next to her husband's. He thinks maybe, just maybe he understands her a little better now.

I always loved her more than she loved me.

_**Note:** I missed you guys._


	68. Azula: Caged Monster

out out let me out.

Did you see that? Do you see how she speaks to me?

I can't get away.

He can't leave me. Zuko can't leave me here with her. She doesn't stop talking- she doesn't GO AWAY.

no. NO. don't let her

touch me

please.

You don't understand, Zuko. She doesn't leave. She doesn't **B U R N.**

Wait- did you hear that?

untie me, pesant girl. untie me, brother. Don't leave me chained here- YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME CHAINED.

she's coming…………. do you hear her? do you see her, brother?

It's what you've always wanted, and yet you turn away.

Fine. LEAVE. I banish you and the pesant. **Fire Lord Azula Banishes** you.

sssstay away from me. I do not do not want you.

No love

I do NOT love you.

**Don't come any closer**! I have fire. I still have my fire.

sssstop talking. SHUT UP!

i don't care. idonotcareidonotcareidonotcareidonotcareidonotcareidonotcare- - -

**YOU LIE**

no. I do not

want

your love,

Mother.

_**Note:**__ Is it really over?- - - - And did anyone else love the way Azula totally went crazy? Inside her head._


	69. Katara: The World is Flat

It puts a lump in her throat, all this knowing.

A curse of war, she supposes. The past year of her life was all so outrageous, so exciting, she worries that the rest of her life will be dull in compare. Peace is boring, after one has lived through war.

Katara knows that Aang is happier now. It's good and it's sad at the same time, just like the rest of her life. She wants Aang to be happy, oh, she does. But the knowing that what makes Aang happy and what makes her happy are two different things- that is sad.

It tears her apart to think of the beginning. So long ago, so different, so much adventure ahead. What kind of a curse is war- to be awful and stressful enough to make you hate it at the time, but to be so life changing and so exciting to make you miss it when it's done.

Katara will spend the rest of her life antsy and waiting. She knows it. Waiting for another war to start. Waiting for that war to end, thinking each new twist will finally satisfy her. Finally make her happy.

She treasures her memories like nothing else in the world, yet she can't bear to think about them sometimes because the longing is so strong, the emotions so deep, her tale so real. It overwhelms her. One year, so full of everything. Enough to fill a lifetime.

- - -

Gran Gran tells her to get in the canoe and go fishing with Sokka.

"But Gran," she whines, "I had plans today! I was going to play."

Gran shakes her head and mutters something about playing with a war going on, how ridiculous.

As they push off the icy bank, Katara stiffly ignores her friends voices, mocking her and her fishing trip while they got to play. "Careful, Katara! Don't sail too far now, or you'll hit the edge of the world and fall right off!" The girls dissolve into giggles and wander away from the bank.

She isn't afraid.

And the current picks up and she's out of the boat, racing toward the edge, and she catches him right before he falls.

_Careful, Katara._

Cursed are those who heed no warnings.


	70. Toph: Fragile

She was made of porcelain and was snow white, her Nanny told her. Toph didn't know what that meant, except for "no touching" without an adult here. Her Nanny said that the doll was specially made to look like Toph, and sometimes she would be taken down from the shelf and Toph would be allowed to stroke her fancy dress, or pat her fancy hair, or run her fingers over the smooth paint of the eyes that felt like they weren't even there.

Toph never knew the doll stayed in her room until she started to progress in earthbending. Then, slowly, she could rub her foot along the floor over the carpet, pretending to her Nanny that she liked the soft feeling, but really be mapping out what her room actually looked like, rubbing harder for the concrete foundation of the room when the picture got fuzzy. Feeling the shelf where the bitty Lady Toph sat for always.

It was a comfort when nighttime came, knowing that her Nanny had retired to her sleeping chamber and that no one could see her, but she could see them. It was never a comfort, however, to have the doll on the shelf forever watching with her smooth eyes that never shut. Mommy likes the doll; won't move it.

Night falls. Swing your legs over the edge of the bed and practice seeing. Soon, she could map out the whole house. Mommy's little Porcelain Doll, watching her while she sleeps. Toph wonders how she likes the feeling.

Toph doesn't know who can make a doll to be like her. Who knows her well enough? Who does Mommy think she is to lock her up in a room and dress her up? For what- they don't show her to anyone! Was one doll not enough? Toph is stronger than that.

Night falls. Swing your legs over the edge of the bed and go to the shelf. One swift, quiet controlled kick and the doll falls off the shelf. Toph can't see it while it's falling, but she sticks her hands out to catch it anyway. A royally slippered foot smacks her hand on the way down, and Toph grips it, holding the doll upside-down. Turning it, she fumbles around its face with her fingers (her face?). Eyes always open, never seeing anything. Toph almost feels sorry for it.

She reaches for its hand (her own hand?) and holds onto it for a moment, before the crushing anger grips her. "You're strong" she says, applying too much pressure to the hand. "You're stronger than everyone thinks, Toph. Show me!"

And the hand snaps off. Toph lets out a cry of frustration and throws the tiny hand against the door. She feels the house stir. Mommy will be coming for her soon, unless the Nanny reaches her first.

The crushing feeling returns and Toph simply collapses with the disappointment of it all. Onto the ground, into a heap, just like the doll. She's (they've) snapped.

Toph is not fragile. She realizes that she is, however, easily broken.


	71. Sokka: Knowing What You Know

It was a good place for thinking.

Other than that, the tundra was pretty much useless. Not the best place to grow up.

He became very good at thinking. The snow was perfect for war. He sometimes wonders what a person would think about snow before wars. He sometimes wonders if there were people before wars to think.

He can draw in the snow. He'll walk out there, standing in the middle of a giant blank canvas, knowing nothing more than what he knows, but taking the thoughts he has and putting them together in different ways, seeing if it'll make something new.

Some days he's angry, and he stands in the snow making up battles, drawing out an aerial view of the landscape and the troops, and then trying to find out how to win, to see if he can stump himself.

Some days he's hopeful and he looks out across the ocean and tries to imagine the places beyond what he sees, where the world isn't all blue brown and white.

Some days he's sad, and with a gloved hand he'll draw himself, without a troop, and lines and lines of the enemy surrounding him.

There've been days when he walks out to the tundra with love on his mind, and his carving tool, and a block of precious firewood. He'll whittle away at the block until rough outlines appear, and he'll pick his favorite design and detail it until his fingers are raw.

Then, one by one he'll go through all of the girls in the tribe trying his hardest to picture each of their eyes, their hands, their braids, trying to find out which one is best, which is _special_.

And after a long time of thoughts and a short time of cold realization, the carvings all end up in the sea. Sometimes he hopes that a mermaid (not that he really believes in those. This is just hope, after all, and who ever really believes in that anyway?) might find it, or that maybe it would float all the way to some far off place where a beautiful girl would find it, because some of them really are good, and he hates to waste firewood.

Weeks go by. He gets smarter and lonelier. Maybe more than anyone he's ever known, except for his father right after his mom died. Sometimes (all the time) he wishes to leave. To go off to some other place and learn more things instead of playing with the same old thoughts.

He would come back, though. He's always known that.

But until then, what good is a place for thinking when you really know nothing at all?

_**Note:**_

_Boys suck! And fanfiction makes me feel better. I might be back for a while, guys._

_This might be the prequel to Tent air? Could be? Sokka deserves so much love. I know it's kind of choppy, but don't worry. It's choppy on purpose._


	72. Sokka and Katara: Everything, Anything

She holds onto Sokka's leg with all the strength in her, and won't let go for anything.

"Katara, I've got to go."

Sokka looks down at his sister, with her big eyes and little hands clutching onto him like that. He wiggles his foot a little, and her head bounces on his knee.

"Katara." he says, a mixture of emotions in one word. He needs her to let go so he can catch up to Dad before the men leave on the boats, but at the same time he wants to fall down into the snow where she sits and cry and cry, don't make me go, don't let me go.

Sokka takes a deep breath of cold air and wonders what the air will taste like tomorrow, when he's on his way to battle. He places a hand on Katara's hair like he's seen his father do. "It's time to say goodbye."

"I can't, I can't." Katara moans, pure agony. Sokka's heart stings at the sound. "I can't say goodbye to you. I can't even see you. I can't see anybody any more!" She stares up accusingly at his face, and Sokka realizes she's talking about the war paint he's wearing.

Katara opens her mouth to say goodbye to Sokka, but her voice dies when a warrior's face stares down at her.

"It's still me."

Katara's head stays down, and she shakes it pitifully.

"Yes it is, Katara."

Slowly her arms slide off his leg and she sinks down onto her side, laying in the snow. Sokka takes a few steps away to make sure she won't chase after him, and turns around.

"Bye, Katara."

She closes her eyes, tight, against reality. A few moments later she opens her eyes to Sokka's back, far off, walking over the hill towards the docks. Despite everything, she never really thought he'd do it.

Sokka is leaving.

Katara rolls onto her stomach and begins shoving snow into her mouth. Her gums sting, and it's so cold that she feels it ringing in her ears, but she keeps eating the dirty snow as fast as she can, waiting for it to fill up the emptiness in her gut and letting it block she scream she can feel tearing at her throat.

"_Please, Sokka come back."_

- - -

A little boy walks back over the hill, stepping in the foot prints he made earlier that morning because he doesn't have the energy to make new ones.

A little girl sits silent, by the fire.

"Katara?"

Sokka's sister looks up at the sound of his voice, big eyes and little hands. Her eyes are swollen from tears and her lips looked bruised and cut.

"The war's over already?" is the first thing she says to him, and he smiles in the saddest way because he can't tell if she's serious.

And the little boy grabs a hold of the little girl and promises to never ever let go.

And she's crying and saying "You came back, you heard me, you came back for me" and he's hugging her and telling her "yes, yes, you're worth coming back for, you'll always be safe with me."

Then her hands are on his face, wiping off war paint and catching tears he didn't know were falling.

Because Sokka isn't just her best friend, or her family. He's her only thing and everything and her anything.

He's her brother.

_**Note:** My brother can't just leave. He's my brother. _


	73. Aang and Katara: Beacon

_Words._

_What's in them, really?_

_Sokka gives a speech, and suddenly everyone is ready to fight. To die. What if I don't want that kind of power?_

She smiles at me, patient eyes. _Aang, _she says, and she tells me that I have power so much greater than words. I have the power of the spirits, the four elements, the world. One speech is nothing to be afraid of.

_But that isn't true._

I watch her mouth open for a moment, before she closes it and leans back, thoughtful.

_A speech is more powerful than the elements, Katara. Don't you get it? A speech can kill people._

Her eyes soften at the corners and she looks at me like I'm a child. When she speaks, it's quiet and careful, and she reminds me that the elements can kill people, too. I can kill people, too.

_It's different. When someone fights, the other person doesn't have a choice. They either fight back or get hurt. With words, it's all about choice. These people _choose _to die._

Her head falls into her hand. She says, _no, Aang_, that they're not choosing to die. They're choosing to fight for something they believe in.

_And who made them believe in it! A leader, who got up and spoke to them and told them what was right, what they should think and defend and die for. I can't do that, Katara. I can't tell people something that would make that kind of decision for them, I can't happily send people off to their death and know that it's my fault._

She stands, and looks up at the sky. Her mouth is a smile on the side of her face and her eyes are sad as she takes my hand and pulls me toward her. She holds me close in the way she does when she's scared, with one hand on the back of my head, pushing my face onto the space where her neck meets her shoulder.

Katara kisses the top of my head and says my name, followed by _not everyone is granted the amount of power they think they should have._

She pulls away, and it's there, burning in her eyes. How much she wants to make the speech, rally the troops, change minds and tell people what's right. How much she wants the power , and yet she has to sit back and watch me run from it, having only the power to fight for what she believes in. Die for what she believes in.

What she believes in is me.

It should've been her.


	74. Aang: Everything That I Am

"Aang,

His name is Aang." she says, and holds her baby close. He stirs in her arms, and smiles just slightly. It is enough to light up her world.

* * *

"Aang!"

The boy pauses and looks back at Monk Gyatso.

"Be careful out there."

Aang's laugh fills the temple. "I'm always careful!" And with that he leaps onto his glider and right off the edge.

* * *

"Aang,

He is the next Avatar." The abbot says this in such a grave way that Gyatso's head falls. Then he remembers his friend Roku, and somehow he is not surprised.

* * *

"Aang?"

Katara's whisper is full of fear as Appa lands and only the heads of Toph, Suki, and Sokka are visible. Zuko grabs her arm to steady her and she feels a dizziness come over her; the heaviest grief she has even known.

"Katara?"

It's a groggy voice, and when Aang sits up in Appa's saddle, looking torn and tattered and _alive_, Katara's world lights up. He staggers to his feet and stumbles down Appa's tail, where she rushes to catch him.

"I did it, Katara." Aang murmurs, burying himself in her arms and then leaning back onto Appa. "I stopped Ozai and ended the war, just like you said I could. I made the world safe for you."

* * *

"The real hero here," Zuko says, gesturing to the Airbender walking out of the palace, "is the Avatar. He saved us all."

The crowd erupts into cheers and screams of "Thank you Avatar! Avatar, Avatar!"

"Please," he says, throwing on a gracious smile. "Call me Aang. I'm Aang."


	75. Kataang AU: Reality

There is a boy who Katara sees often.

He's two years younger than her in school, so she doesn't have any classes with him except swim. But still, they're on different teams, have different friends.

At lunch she sits with the other upperclassmen, but from her table she can see where he sits, sometimes with a few friends, sometimes alone.

He doesn't live particularly close to Katara, maybe a few neighborhoods over, but she runs into him a lot. Maybe more than normal. Driving to the store she'd see him walking his dog. Walking through the mall she'd find him buying a drink from the food court. Walking out to meet Sokka at his car she'd see that boy, waiting with the other freshmen for their parents to pick them up, quietly trying to talk to the little blind girl.

It shoots a pain right through her heart every time. Quick, soft, but noticeable.

There's nothing special about this boy.

He's just like any other freshman; goofy, young. Always clowning around in the water. Katara knows he'd be good, really good, if he took swimming as seriously as she did.

But why should she care? Why should she stare at him in the lunchroom, wondering what he could be thinking? Why should she feel anything at all for this stranger?

Well, maybe he's not a stranger. They spoke, once.

It was in the hallway after school. She was headed to her swim locker when Katara heard the commotion. She turned the corner toward the locker rooms and there was Zuko, hands curled into an orange shirt, lifting that familiar boy off the ground.

His back was shoved against the lockers in a way that was causing his face to twist in pain.

"Zuko!" Katara snapped, and the angry senior turned his head toward her. Katara looked at the ground. A long pause followed. "Sokka wanted me to tell you to meet him at his car. He had to tell you something about Mai… or something like that." she finished lamely.

Zuko looked torn for a moment, before giving the boy one last shove against the locker (which cause both him and Katara to wince on impact) and strode moodily away, making sure to bump Katara's shoulder as he stalked past.

Her books spilled into the hall and she bit her tongue against shouting something obscene after him. When she leaned down to pick up her things, she found most of them collected in those hands she studied from across the lunchroom so many times.

Katara grabbed the remaining book and straightened up to find that his eyes only came up to her nose.

"Thanks." they said at the same time.

"Oh, uh," Katara said, and she laughed. He smiled and rubbed the sore spot on his back.

Katara wanted to ask him if he was alright, or why Zuko had him in the deathlock, but decided it was best to pretend it had never happened, for his sake.

"Aang, right?" she asked, and he grinned so big it made her heart ache. "I'm-"

"Katara." he cut her off with a shrug. "Best swimmer on the team," Aang answered to her questioning look. "Everyone knows you. Plus, I kind of see you around a lot."

"Oh. I, uh, I see you a lot, too." Katara felt strange to say it, like she was admitting to noticing him.

"Yeah?" he asked her, his smile too hopeful. "Life's funny like that."

Before Katara could ask him what he meant the hall filled with students in their swim suits. They were pouring out of the locker rooms to head to the practice that was about to start.

Katara snatched her other books from Aang before anyone could see him holding them for her.

"Better get changed." She threw the excuse over her shoulder so he wouldn't have to look at his face.

It was hardly a conversation. It didn't mean anything.

Katara remembers how angry Aang was that day at practice. She felt a twinge of regret at having not stopped Zuko sooner (why was that suddenly _her_ responsibility?) but noticed with all of that anger he swam so much faster. And for the first time that year, someone beat her freestyle time.

Katatra still sees Aang often. But nothing changes. She is afraid to wave to him, afraid she reminds him of that day in the hall with Zuko, afraid off all that pain in his eyes, even if it did make him swim faster.

So it is unexpected that night as she is getting ready when the doorbell rings and there is Aang, standing on her porch, looking torn in every direction.

"Please-" he starts, but pauses when he sees her. "Oh, Katara… I didn't know you…"

She notices some flyers in his hand and reaches for one. "What's going on?" she asks him gently.

"My dog. I lost my dog, Appa."

Katara studies the picture. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen him." When she looks back at Aang he just looks so hopeless, his eyes focusing and unfocusing. She has the urge to take him into her arms. "I'm so sorry." she breathes, and his eyes fill up with tears.

"Uh," he stumbles, obviously embarrassed he's crying but unable to stop.

"Do you need anything?" Katara asks, steading him by putting a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at her and sees that her eyes are saying "_Me? But why did you come to me?"_

"I-" Aang begins, and his voice breaks. "I don't know." he says to both her questions, and looks at her with a sad, confused stare.

She drops her hand from his shoulder. The pain in her heart is no longer quick or soft.

Katara knows she should go pull her car around, tell Aang to get in, and help him put up posters. She knows that she should comfort him as he waits by the phone and hold him for every tear that falls every moment the phone does not ring.

Her hand reaches out to him, but only to give him the flyer back. "Go hang these up, Aang. I know what he looks like, I'll tell you if we see him."

Aang nods absently.

"Hey," Katara says, catching his wrist. "Don't give up hope."

Another nod and Aang is off, those flyers clutched in his small hands. She doesn't know why, but Katara stands on her porch to watch him go. She notices how little he looks, and has to fight from shouting "It makes sense, that you would come to me! I feel that, too!" but instead she walks inside and finishes getting ready for her date.

As her date's car pulls up Katara steps out onto her porch and pauses there, framed by her doorway, wondering if somehow, somewhere, things were supposed to be different.


	76. Ursa: A Good Man

There was a time when he loved me.

He called me beautiful.

There was a time when being a princess was something I only dreamed of.

Sometimes I look at this man who is my husband, and realize I don't understand him at all.

When I first met him, he was kind. He would firebend, and he was so strong.

Now, when I watch him with our son, I see that he is so weak.

We were young. I was foolish, thought only about falling in love and not the possibility of falling out of it.

I don't regret it.

And yet, and yet I can't help but imagine all the ways my life could have gone differently.

I tell myself I don't regret it.

I tell myself it wasn't my fault, I had no way of knowing, all good things seem perfect until they aren't.

But he was so good. He was once so good.

_Wasn't the princess supposed to live happily ever after?_


	77. Sokka and Katara: Where The Heart Is

The waves rumbled past her toes and wrapped around her ankles.

"Katara!" Sokka shouted. "Aren't you gonna come in?"

No response. Katara just stood at the shoreline, water slapping her legs.

"Kataaaraaa," Sokka whined as his feet sunk into the wet sand. "Hey! Katara, are you listening to me, because-" A wave crashed onto the muttering warrior's shoes before he could back up. "Aww, man. See what you did!" he shouted to his sister. "Alright, that's enough. Let's go. Aang is no doubt worried sick about Appa, and you, for that matter. We've got to pack and get on our way."

"Where?"

The word was sudden, rushed, and it made Sokka stop his retreat from the ocean and look at Katara.

"Home." he replied.

"Then where did we come from?"

"The South Pole," Sokka replied easily. "From a visit with Gran Gran and Dad."

"And where exactly are we going?" she asked, never looking away from the horizon.

"Ba Sing Se, to our house. Where everyone is waiting." He impatiently tugged at her arm, and when he pulled her around to face him he saw there was agony buried in her eyes.

"Which is home, Sokka?" Katara asked, barely a whisper.

"Ba Sing Se!" he exclaimed in a that's-what-I've-been-trying-to-tell-you-this-whole-time way, but when his sister didn't move his tone softened. "Home… it's where the people you love are."

"There is no ocean in Ba Sing Se." Katara replied sharply.

"But, our friends- Katara, seriously! The ocean is just an ocean!"

"Then the moon is just a moon."

Sokka stiffened. "Way to go, Katara. Hit me where it hurts. You win. So, what, what do you think you're going to do? Just live on this stupid beach your whole life? Or, oh, I know, go back and live on some block of ice knowing that rest of the world is out there? Knowing that you'd be breaking Aang's heart?"

"Aang." Katara says to the water.

"And what about Toph? You know she needs you! And your new pal Zuko, and, and… and me, Katara." and for the first time Sokka looked hurt. "What about me? We've never lived apart. Home, it's where your brother is." He takes her hand.

Katara could feel Sokka's hand in hers, pulling, and the ocean around her ankles, pulling, and the wind whipping her hair.

Her grip tightened on Sokka's hand.

"Katara, we're Water Tribe. We adapt. I know you feel like the ocean is a part of you, but the strength to leave it for the people who need you is part of who you are, too.

"Aang."

"He loves you. And you love him."

"I love him." And the ocean pulls back from her feet. "He needs me."

"We all do." Sokka admitted with a shrug. "But what is it that you need?"

"I need," Katara started, staring at her love, her ocean, "to help them. I need to never turn my back on them."

"C'mon." Sokka said, tugging at her arm. "Let's go home."

"Home." she breathed, and then Katara turned her back on the ocean and it crashed.

_**Note: **I realize I just updated, but people this is big. This is SO BIG. _

_Google The Legend Of Korra RIGHT NOW._

_Fourth Season, everybody. It's back, it's different, but it's back._

_I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. Right now I can't even think. Thoughts?_


	78. Kataang: Such Distance

Katara sits in the courtyard and thinks about regrets and love, and how difficult it can be to tell the two apart.

For the first couple of days at the palace she was completely overwhelmed by the heat of the Fire Nation. All she could do was lay on the ground, arms spread wide, sweating and feeling the heat press against her. It was worse than she remembered.

"You'll get used to it" Zuko would chuckle, giving her some tea that Iroh had prepared cold, just for her.

Everyone was exceptionally nice those first few days, and it seeded a deep guilt down inside her. While Zuko and the servants and Iroh were making sure she had everything she could ever need to make her more comfortable, all she could think was 'home, cold, blue' and all it took was one look around for Katara to know just how far away she was.

Zuko was patient, and at night he'd hold her during her nightmares and tell her 'this is your home now' and pretend it didn't kill him when, every night with her mind clouded by sleep, she thought he was Aang.

"This is your home now."

That phrase always makes Katara think of Aang, and how she would tell it to him over and over, pointing to each member of their little family. If only she had known the pain she was setting him up for when they all went their separate ways. She thinks she still would have said it to him, though. It was what he needed.

Within the first two weeks Zuko could see what a struggle being away from the Water Tribe was for Katara, and surprised her by adorning their entire bathing quarters in blue. He was trying so hard to give her a little slice of home, and Katara acknowledged and appreciated it, really, she did. But the nightmares didn't stop.

Zuko was hesitant to tell Katara at first. He brought it up when they were getting into bed for the night, because he couldn't think of any other time that would be any better.

When he first told her that Aang would be here, at her palace, in a few days, her heart sped up. Katara absently wondered if he was coming to try and persuade her to leave with him, before it sinks in that of course, he was coming to sign the treaty Zuko has been telling her about for the past month. Official Avatar business.

It scared Katara how much the realization hurt her.

When word traveled through the palace that Aang had arrived, Katara tried not to seem too eager to greet him and made a big show of being quite busy rearranging the pillows on the bed. After that she slowly made her way down to the dinner party being held in his honor.

Aang was naturally busy talking to everyone, and Katara was naturally feeling quite out of place. It was difficult to be standing the same room with a boy she had once shared everything with, and feel so unchangeably _separate_.

There was a point in the evening when Katara really did feel that things were destined to be strange between her and Aang, and she wondered if he even cared that she sat down to dinner on the other side of the table, so far from him.

As the night wore on Katara found that she couldn't stand all the people standing around in dresses. She couldn't stand all the fancy silk dresses and the high class mingling and court life and court walls and the damn _heat_.

"I… need some air…" she mumbled to whomever she was listening to (she can't remember who; she wasn't really listening anyway) and left her drink in their hand. Her steps became more and more desperate as she made her way through the party, looking for an exit.

Katara came upon two wide doors and slipped out them, and found herself in the courtyard.

She sits in the courtyard with no ceiling above her and remembers a time when she didn't need a single comfort in the world. She thinks about Zuko and Aang in the party, and then she thinks about regrets and love and wonders what the difference really is.

Then there's so much nostalgia in her, and the sickening irony of realizing you had the very thing you always wanted but you gave it away, that she has to let everything out somehow, and she keels over the pond and stares at her reflection and hates it.

Katara sits in the dark and rips the pins out of her hair and wipes the shadow from her eyes and blinks a few times against her reflection. She makes a low, guttural noise of pain and sorrow because she can't believe she's let herself get to this point.

Suddenly there's a hand on her back.

"The shellfish will do that to you." said kindly, warmly.

She turns to look at Aang and smiles politely. It's so fake that it makes Aang frown, and that simple gesture from the boy she grew up with makes Katara want to hold him close.

That frown. So honest. She doesn't know how Aang manages to wear his heart on his sleeve like that, so close to the palm of his hand where he holds the world.

In the quiet Katara marvels at how she feels so comfortable with him sitting here next to her despite everything that had happened, the awkward dinner, having not even said so much as hello. It's almost as if he was still twelve and she was still fourteen. It's almost as if she never ran off and married a prince.

"I didn't eat the shellfish." Katara says, fiddling with a bobby pin.

"I know." Aang replies. _I had been watching_, the silence that follows tells her. "Why are you crying, Katara?"

Her throat tightened. It was the first time he had said her name in so, so long.

When she didn't respond Aang scooted toward the edge of the pond. He peered over the edge, like Katara had done earlier. When he realized Katara was watching him, he pretended to fix his nonexistent hair in the reflection.

This got a laugh out of her, and then a staggering sense of what she lost.

Zuko never made her laugh.

"So is it weird, living here?"

Katara blinked, hesitating too long before answering. "It's… different. But still nice."

"I don't know, Katara. That hall where the party was held? A few years ago I was looking in there for the Fire Lord. This whole place just reminds me of-"

"Things changed, Aang."

He laughed at airily at this. "Of course they did. Don't you think I know that? We're the ones who changed it."

"Not we, Aang. You. You changed it."

Katara had meant it as a compliment, but she saw how deeply those words (_Not we, Aang.) _affected him.

"You know, sometimes I wonder if you had been with me that day, instead of Zuko-"

"Aang." she warned.

"Maybe it would've turned out differently."

"You still saved the world." she whispered.

"For you, Katara." Aang said firmly. "I did it for you."

Her hands flew to the crown of her head to keep her mind from breaking apart. "Aang, please."

"Katara, we have to talk about this."

Her head dips down.

"I loved you." Aang says, reaching for her.

Her head swings back up and she stands, letting hands and words slide off her.

"Please don't walk away. Please, Katara."

Her hands search for cold things, anything to remind her of home.

"I loved you."

Katara spins on her heel to face him. "I know." Her eyes burn. Everything in this place burns. "I hate it here." she spits before she can think. "I hate the heat and the colors and how no one has braided hair. I hate that I have to wear a stuffy dress every day and that I can't sleep under the stars and that I'm the only water bender." Bitter tears course down her cheeks, and Katara begins to shake. "I hate being away from Toph and my brother, and from you, Aang. I hate that when I say we're family now it feels like a lie. And I _hate_ knowing that you loved me."

This time when Aang reaches for her she throws her arms around his middle and pushes her face into his neck. His smell makes her knees weak, and Aang sinks to the ground under her added weight. Katara pulls away from him when she remembers where they are.

She sees that Aang is crying, and reaches for his hand.

"Aang," she stammers, fumbling with his hand until his palm is flat against hers, "Aang, your hand. We used to have the same size hands."

"It's been a long time." he squeezes out.

"I missed it. I missed all of it." Her two small hands cradle his larger one against her forehead, and Katara realizes at that moment her heart is broken.

"Lady Katara?"

Katara slowly lowers Aang's hand and looks up at the messenger.

"Lord Zuko-" at the mention of his name Aang pulls Katara to him and clutches her to his chest. "has asked after you and the Avatar."

Katara stands up and straightens her shoulders. "Of course. Tell him that I was catching up with the Avatar, and came down with a headache and will be retiring to our quarters early."

The servant takes in Katara's mussed hair and swollen eyes. "But-"

"I have a headache." Katara replies forcefully, and the servant's eyes snap to the ground.

"And of you, Avatar?"

He looks at Katara, and, fearful of seeming suspicious, she nods toward the party.

"I'll be going back to the party, thanks." Aang tells her.

A moment passes in which they all wait for the other to leave until Katara finally bids them a goodnight and exits the courtyard through a fire lit hall.

Aang stands by the pond and looks at his hand, trying to remember what it felt like to have Katara holding it just moments before.

"You know," the servant says at length, "I've heard she speaks your name in her sleep."

* * *

Katara feels Zuko crawl into bed that night, and is surprised when he doesn't make a move to hold her.

Then she fears that maybe the servant was a gossip and word spread that Katara and Aang had been doing what it looked like they had been doing. Perhaps someone told him. Or perhaps Zuko was really present all along, and heard everything she said…

But after much thinking, instead of being upset by these possibilities, for the first time since she arrived Katara falls asleep with hope instead of regret in her heart.

And the nightmares stop.


	79. Kataang: Hundred

It's never quite like he remembered.

Peace, that is.

Aang smiles when he should. He attends every meeting, travels to every Nation, stops every rebellion before it can even start.

But Katara sees it. A bubbling homesickness that overtakes him, causes him to feign a headache or a sour stomach and retreat to his room.

And in his room he will stare. Stare at the wall, or at Momo, or at a glass of water and try to remember _how it was back then._

Katara knows that Aang doesn't regret the way things played out. She knows that Aang is thankful that he lived during the time of Sokka and Katara and Toph, and that if he could change it he wouldn't. She knows that the knowledge of his selfishness tears him apart.

It'd hard for her, these times when she loses him to the past.

Sometimes Aang will look at Appa with such trust and love because he is the only one who was there through it all, the only one who truly knows. She'll see Aang reach out toward a building with such raw longing, and Katara knows that place once meant something to him, one hundred years ago.

It makes her insane that she'll never know. That she can't feel these same things, and she finds herself missing a time that was never hers in the first place. The knowledge of her selfishness tears her apart, sometimes.

There are times when she feigns a headache, too, and follows Aang. When he begins to look far away she'll hold him tightly to keep him in the present.

"It was only twelve years!" she wants to shout. She wants to shake him by the shoulders and tell him he absolutely cannot compare these two times, these two lives.

But mostly Katara just wants Aang to hug her back and reassure her that, because she is here, this end of the one hundred years is so much _better._

_**Note:**__ My Muse is back, hardcore. If you're feeling nostalgic and happen to read any of these, then hello, how've you been, and what did you think of the movie? Haha. Oh, I've missed this fandom. If anything, I'm glad the movie reawakened it just a little._

_Hundred, by The Fray_


	80. Zutara: Delicate World

_It's okay to say you've got a weak spot_  
_You don't always have to be on top_  
_Better to be hated than love, love, loved for what you're not_

She can't sleep.

Katara lays awake in her sleeping bag, berating herself for where her thoughts take her.

When she sees something broken, she always has to fix it.

Katara finds Zuko by the fire. Of course, she thinks. She sits down with him, not quite next to him, leaving space for all her doubts to settle between them.

Zuko makes no move to acknowledge that she's there. His eyes are trained on the fire, and in truth, he thinks her brave. And also too trusting. Together, the two traits make her just short of gorgeous, if he were someone else and not himself.

The night makes them honest, and the darkness makes them bold.

"You're always sad." she tells him. It is not a question.

"We're all sad." Zuko says, and tilts his head back. "I just don't have anyone that I need to put on a strong face for."

Katara looks at Zuko, but thinks of Aang. Of how every time the Avatar breaks she picks up his pieces and tries to put them back together in a different way, hopefully stronger than the last. That way, maybe, he will never truly shatter.

Zuko's scar is loud in the night. It screams the unspoken; how much Zuko could use someone like Katara in his life, how she quietly tries to help him when every one else is sleeping, when it is least likely that Aang will find out. Katara knows it's the one sure way to make him shatter, and she's worked too hard to let that happen.

But she is not his alone. Katara doesn't belong to anybody. Sometimes, she feels, she doesn't even belong to herself.

The fire crackles.

Katara stifles a yawn and Zuko says "You shouldn't stay up this late so often."

"Neither should you." comes the tired response, as if Zuko didn't already know that as long as he was here she would follow.

Their hearts beat slowly, and Katara looks up at the stars and the moon and feels too much for any one person.

She wants to ask him _why_ and when he tells her all the reasons of his sadness she wants to fix him. She wants to understand it all, and then she wants to take Zuko into her arms like she does for Aang until he is completely sure that he is no longer alone.

But Zuko is not Aang. So instead she sits by the fire, very patiently, for nights on end, waiting.

And if he never chooses to open up to her, then at least he has always known that she is here.

For Zuko, for now, this is all she can do. Because Katara still has Aang, who is strong for the world and fragile for her, only her, and it is her responsibility to care for the world's caretaker. In this way, Katara will sometimes selfishly think to herself, she is important, more important than anyone. And the more she thinks this, the less proud and the more tired she becomes.

Aang; her hope.

And Zuko... Zuko, a mystery.

Katara knows that Aang loves her. And, as Zuko sits by the fire, so obviously hurting (and yet only she can see it?) Katara thinks everything will be much easier if Zuko never chooses to love her, but she'd like him to, just to see if he could.

And then who would she pick? So needy, both of them. But love isn't about who needs her more; this much she knows. And that's about the extent of it.

This world, she thinks, what a delicate place.

And Zuko, she knows, so broken, so strong.

"You don't make any sense." Katara mumbles, and turns her face toward the fire, hoping for some light.

"I never will." Zuko says firmly, sadness dancing at the edge of his words.

A hush falls over their small camp. Katara turns to this boy (a prince, a _boy_) with what she knows. Aang, whom she needs, and Zuko, whom she wants. "Then, I think, I'll stop trying to figure you out."

"No." Zuko says, unrushed, thoughtful. "Keep trying. Someday, some one will."

And then the sun begins to rise, and the Firebender gets up and leaves the Waterbender with only the memory of her moon, and a question of "But will it be me?"

_You're vulnerable, you're vulnerable_  
_You are not a robot_  
_You're loveable, so loveable_  
_But you're just troubled_

_**Note:** The only possible way I imagine Zutara working. This was surprisingly fun to write._

_The lyrics are from a song, "I Am Not A Robot" by Marina and the Diamonds. Check it out, I'm obsessing over it._

_Oh, I have no idea when this takes place. After Zuko joins the group, before the final battle. You decide._


	81. Main Characters: One Sentence

1. Seat:

It's with a start that Sokka looks at those seated around the war room and realizes that the most important people in his life are the most important people in the world.

2. Laughter:

"Don't laugh," she warns to his outstretched hand as the music slows to a waltz, "They didn't exactly have dance lessons at the bottom of the world."

3. Mask:

After the final battle Katara throws her arms around a triumphant Aang and exclaims that she never doubted he'd save the world, _not for a second_; everyone is crying so no one hears Toph's whisper of "You're lying."

4. Friendship:

The first night at Ba Sing Se Aang sits in his own room and aches; how did he let them all get so far apart?

5. Sing:

"Tell me darlin'," the performer slurs, "what's your favorite Song?"; a boy named Lee opens his mouth and closes it before leaving the pub and getting on his (her) emuhorse to ride off.

6. Rain:

She looks at the ocean and imagines the world her father told her of, where there's water on the ground and, sometimes, in the sky.

7. Dagger:

Sokka pulls his boomerang out of the man's chest and closes his eyes; _get a grip, get a grip, it had to be done._

8. Home:

Two boys, a prince and a savior, wish to go back to the place that reminds them most of home; it is a sad and broken world where one dream can't come true without crushing the other.

9. Earth:

"Here." Aang says, handing Katara a jar of dirt he'd been carrying ever since they began traveling to the Northern Water Tribe, "I saved the earth for you."

10. Family:

After the wedding Aang smiles at Sokka and says "Look at that, we're brothers now." and Sokka shakes his head and claps the boy on the back (_We were always brothers, Aang)_.

11. Red:

The young boy hands the girl a red rose; the color of love, he thinks; "The color of blood." her brother says.

12. Doll:

Toph shoves Katara's motherly hands away after she falls ("I'm not fragile.").

13. Children:

"He can't do this without us, Sokka! He's just a kid!" Brother looks at sister, "And what are we?"

14. Fury:

Aang's arrows begin to glow and the wind picks up, and while Toph tries in her own way to calm him down, ("Hey! Hey, don't get your panties in a bunch!") thankfully Katara arrives just in time.

15. Nightmare:

His pretty new friend tells him that he was gone for a hundred years, and he thinks "_I've never had a dream that felt so real before._"

16. Kill:

Sokka looks at Toph after they break into the Earth Kingdom Palace and absently wonders how many people she just killed before he remembers, oh spirits, she's _twelve._

17. Feral:

Toph buries her toes in the soft dirt and Sokka asks "Do you ever miss home?"; she laughs.

18. Snow:

They are riding back to the village on Appa when Katara asks this Airbending boy why he isn't cold; he tells her pain is all in your head, and she looks back at her brother rubbing his temples and mumbling "You're all in my head."

19. Sharp:

"You're pretty smart, my boy," the man says, and Sokka just thinks '_Jet, used, dangerous_' and doesn't answer.

20. Explosion:

"What did you call him?" Zuko asks Aang, and the boy points to Sokka who says "Hey, I changed the name to Combustion Man!"

21. Dinner:

"What are we going to eat tonight?" Katara asks sadly, and Aang looks at the ground; he knows he should be doing this alone.

22. Kick:

Katara tried to explain to Toph that insulting Aang about his bending probably hurt him worse than any physical blow; Toph kicked the boy hard in the ribs and simply asked him, "Did it?"

23. Teamwork:

"We make a pretty good team." Aang remarked quietly to Katara after a battle, and she nodded and was reaching for his hand when Sokka appeared right between the two, arms slung over their shoulders roughly; "We sure do! Go Team Avatar!"

24. Translate:

Sokka rolled over to face Toph when he saw Aang sneak off toward Katara's sleeping bag; "So what's the excuse this time? Nightmare?" and she strained her ears and planted her feet.

25. Tear:

"Don't cry, don't cry," Katara begs, wiping tears from the young Avatar's face; but he can't stop, so his heart breaks twice.

26. Make-up:

Katara is silent in front of the mirror, hair piled up and powder piled on for the party ("I can't even recognize my own face.")

27. Shirshu:

Her lips touch his, and Zuko knows he's frozen in place.

28. Drown:

"Be careful." her mother warns as Katara peaks over the edge of the ice, and the little girl wonders how her people can keep fires inside but be so afraid of the _ocean_.

29. Swim:

"Sokka!" she screeches, rushing into the river, "Sokka, feel how warm!"

30. Respect:

After dinner one night Sokka mentions, as he washes the pottery, that they could all stand to respect him a little more; "You aren't our _father!_" Toph scoffs, and they all laugh before going quiet (because really, that's exactly what he is).

31. Game:

After the battle, when everyone is hugging and counting heads and weeping, Sokka laughs bitterly; back at the South Pole, they played this for fun.

32. Win:

"I win again!" Aang shouts, and Katara slams the Pai Sho tiles down in frustration; Sokka watches with his head resting on his hands and thinks it's so hard to be in love when you're young.

33. Practice:

"It will take practice." Gran Gran says, holding the weaving out for her granddaughter to try, but she is met by a familiar look in the eyes; "What if I don't care?"

34. Crisis:

It goes unspoken between the two siblings, but they both know it's there; at the North Pole he had to lose Yue, and she got to find Aang.

35. Break:

"Shh, shh, Toph," Katara says, taking the broken leg into her hands, "Please, let me help you."

36. Rules:

"But it's not fair." Aang sobs the night he finds out; "I know, my boy" Gyatso says, a hand on the child's head, "In your life, most things will not be."

37. Lovely:

Family visits, and when they tell Ozai that Azula is becoming a beautiful little girl the Fire Princess says "But people can't be beautiful."; everyone laughs but her mother.

38. Present:

It bothers Toph more than she lets on when the other three reminisce around the campfire she can't see, under the stars she can't see, about the times she wasn't around for.

39. Smoke:

Jet always knew he'd die young, but he frowns all the same when the Earthbenders flood into the underground room; he always planned on going up in smoke.

40. Heart:

When Aang proposes to Katara she cries ("Oh, Aang, I don't know what to say... no one in the world is good enough to deserve you.") and Sokka and Toph high-five ("Then say 'Haha, suckers!' Cuz _you_ got him!")

41. Rag:

"Katara?" Sokka says, holding up his torn shirt for her to repair; she puts up with the extra work because she knows they have so little from the very beginning.

42. Bruise:

"Just a bruise..." he tells her with a pained smile; she almost falls over at the sight of the deep gash on his side.

43. New:

They stand in front of the newly rebuilt South Pole, and Katara drops her head onto Sokka's shoulder (Do you miss our village, too?).

44. Fall:

"I fell for you." he says as she tries to heal his wound; she answers with "Oh, Aang, I know. I know you fell trying to protect me." and he thinks his Katara wouldn't know a confession if it hit her in the face.

45. Old:

Standing before the remains of the Earth Kingdom village, Aang's eyes plead to his friends _the world wasn't always like this; _Sokka's answer _I know_ and Katara's say _I hope_.

46. Leader:

The two friends have a system: in their little family Sokka is the leader, not for himself but for Aang, so that there is one safe place where the Avatar can just be a boy.

47. Change:

Katara had always thought of Sokka as the most important person in her insignificant life, but after they make it out of that cave all she can think is _Aang Aang Aang._

48. Map:

Toph takes a deep breath as she steps onto the Fire Navy ship, ("I've never left the Earth Kingdom before") and a hand closes around her own.

49. Sand:

Sokka allows himself one leisurely thought a day (with the men and the tents and the ocean, this beach is just like the South Pole, he thinks, except there's sand instead of snow) and he usually spends that thought on home.

50. Honor:

"I have to show my father that I can follow orders. I need to prove it to myself." Zuko whines, and Iroh hands him the recipe for the customer's tea; "Then start with this."

_**Note:** Forgive my butchering of punctuation. This was the most fun, ever. I think I might do some more._


	82. Main Characters: A Journey

72. Silence:

Iroh stands next to his newly scarred nephew as the ship pulls away from the harbor and sees (through two eyes) that blood is beginning to seep through the bandages; his brother calls it justice, but there are not words for this.

56. Hope:

On the adventure of her lifetime Katara manages to stay alive on water, a portion of whatever Sokka caught, a few nuts, and raw hope.

60. Sugar:

Aang always stared longingly at pastries with a swirl of frosting in the middle and Katara always mistook it as a sweet tooth.

65. Mystery:

Aunt Wu really was quite magical; she could always tell just from looking what it was people wanted to hear.

66. Stars:

They stare up at the stars and Katara whispers "Do you ever wonder what the future will be like?"; Aang is quiet before telling her "Once I woke up in an iceberg and found out."

54. Sting:

"I told you to be careful!" Katara snaps when Aang holds out his swollen finger to her, and she elects not to heal it so he will learn his lesson; a few moments later she comes back with glowing hands and the knowledge that this journey will make her too old if she lets it.

68. Tired:

"I can't do this anymore!" Aang bursts, and kicks at some dirt on the path; "Hey, hey," and Sokka and Katara are on either side of him, "We're here, we're still here."

78. Light:

Aang is too innocent for this burden; the other night, he looked straight at her and said "But how do I know I can do it? I've never really saved the world before."

79. Victory:

"Sure you have, Aang. You've saved the world a thousand times. You just had a different name." and Katara holds onto him for the rest of the night in case he remembers that he's failed a thousand times, too.

70. Mentor:

Out of the corner of his eye Sokka would catch Aang copycatting him sometimes, and as the only male that the Future Savior Of The World looked up to, Sokka decided he ought to be a lot more careful.

53. Hidden:

Katara's last thoughts before the general pulls her all the way underground are of Aang and her brother, and that if being buried alive is her way to die then this war might just change course.

82. Stories:

"Do you think one day they'll tell stories about us?" and a hush falls over the camp at the prospect.

74. Patience:

Toph opens her mouth to yell at him, but notices Katara's hearbeat, so worried for the boy, so she clenches her fists and tells him "Try it again."

69. Medicine:

Toph is sick all night with a fever, and Katara returns from getting her some water at the stream to find Aang trying to shove a frog into her mouth; "What! Are you CRAZY!"

67. Curtain:

Aang spends a long time looking out the window of their home in Ba Sing Se, and Katara spends a lot of time looking at the silk curtains; he does a few odd jobs to earn some money for that party dress because he wants so badly to give her something beautiful.

76. Secret:

Aang knows his friends are fighting because they want to (because they love him and the world), and though he would never tell them, if it were the other way around and he didn't _have_ to do this he doesn't think he would.

61. Treasure:

As Sokka studied the map of the Fire Nation Aang tried to think of something else ("Alright, Aang, the Fire Palace is right here,") because he knew what waited for him at the end ("and X marks the spot.")

57. Wrong:

In the past year Zuko had been told many opposing views on what was right, and he believed all of them desperately, just looking for something to hold on to; it is a bittersweet day when he finally understands that someone had to be wrong.

52. Color:

"Things just don't seem so black and white anymore." the young Avatar confesses to his friend; her milky eyes stare at nothing and she tells him "Maybe it's time for a new perspective."

51. Lucky:

"You think you're so unlucky," a blind girl tells an exiled prince, "but in this world there are plenty of things worse than freedom."

64. Bite:

"Do not bite off more than you can chew." the old man says sagely; Zuko rolls his eyes and responds with "Uncle, you know we have to end this war." while Sokka chokes on his dinner behind them.

71. Time:

As the summer draws to a close Toph thinks about time and the way it leaves; she looks at her friends and worries that it won't be the only thing leaving.

83. Ghost-story:

"I'm so afraid." he tells her; "I know," she says, "but try not to be."

62. Handprint:

"Don't let go." he says, and she promises.

73. Apology:

Zuko looked at his screaming little sister, shackled up like that, and remembered with a little shock that he used to love her (Was he sorry?)

59. Couple:

After their kiss Aang and Katara headed back inside, hands linked, to receive their friends' congratulations; Zuko leans toward Sokka and says "You mean they weren't already?"

55. Right:

Even without his bending Ozai manages to strike fear into the hearts of so many that it keeps Aang up every night wondering _what if my destiny was something else?_

63. Embarrassed:

The first time Katara and Aang walk in on Suki and Sokka they all blush, and after the two younger kids are gone Sokka drops his head into his hands; "Oh, Sokka, don't be so dramatic. It's not like they don't do it, too." Suki tells him with a light laugh, and the warrior rounds on her, face flushed, and a "WHAT did you say!" on his lips.

58. Deep:

Sokka's just waiting for the predicament they won't be able to get out of.

77. Territory:

"It's all one world now!" Aang tries to explain, but the fights between the nations break out anyway.

75. Pleasure:

Aang tells them they don't have to do this, but his friends just smile and Toph puts it best: "I've missed fighting with you guys. There's nothing quite like it."

85. Pain:

"I want to be just like our mother!" Katara shouts, struggling to get her brother's hands off of her so she could rush back into the battle; "No, you don't! Because Mom _died_, Katara. She died."

80. Dark:

Katara reaches for her brother's hand and asks him _we're not going to make it out alive, are we, _and she doesn't cry when he shakes his head.

86. Mark:

Sokka comes to Aang and Toph at the end of the battle with bad news and the mark of where her fingernails had dug into his skin.

84. Lose:

"I couldn't. Without her, I couldn't stop the Rebellion." Aang says, falling to his knees before Toph runs to him screaming "Yes, yes you could've! You_ chose_ not to!"

88. Bond:

"Hey!" Sokka fumes, "That was my only sister who died back there!" and Toph begins to sob heavily ("Then what am I, Sokka?")

81. Revenge:

And the greatest revenge he can think of is to end the Rebellion and spend the rest of his days making sure no one else will have to die for the peace she gave everything for.

87. End:

I won't let go, he says, he promises.

89. Name:

"I'll never be Aang again" he tells his friends, and they nod and hold tightly to what they have left.

**_Note:_**_ Oh sentence drabbles, I love you._

_So I mixed up the order of the prompts so it would read more like a story. I changed a few things in the series to make it work, but oh well._

_Which was your favorite? :)_


	83. Toph: Truth or Dare

The children sit around a campfire in their upside-down world.

Children. They are unable to deny that this is what they are, as much as denying it would help give them strength for the task they'll have to complete.

Upside-down. Because currently they are hiding in a temple on the underside of a cliff from the people they were supposed to have defeated days ago, when the sun was covered by the moon. Because they are hiding there while everyone who is not a child is a prisoner of the enemy; and these things would only ever be allowed to happen in a world that was twisted by war.

"Truth or dare?" The Duke says, and he is met by confused glances.

"What?" Teo asks without looking up from his task of cleaning his goggles with his shirt.

"You know, the game." The Duke insists, and when the faces of his companions remain confused he ventures, "None of you have ever played before?"

A few people shake their heads, while others stay silent, eyes trained on the fire.

"Well." The Duke continues, "It's like this. I'll ask someone truth or dare, and-"

"Look Duke," Sokka cuts in (_The_ he is reminded for the third time that night) "Fine, _The _Duke. No offense, but right now we should be celebrating a victory. The war should be over, but it's not. So not everyone feels like playing your little game, okay?"

"Sokka." his sister warns when she sees The Duke's head fall.

"What?" he spits back. "Do you think Dad is playing a game in prison right now?"

"Sokka!" Katara says outraged, standing up. Aang touches her wrist and shakes his head. She sits back down.

"Actually," Haru says, trying to lighten the mood, "We played a lot of games in prison to pass the time. So it's quite possible that they are."

Teo cracks a polite smile, but otherwise the atmosphere stays sullen.

The group sits in silence for a while before finally someone speaks up. It is Toph, and she simply says "Dare."

The Duke's head pops and he stares at the small Earthbender. He glances around the campfire and sees that a few people are now looking his way.

"Uh," The Duke says, now aware that the Water Tribe warrior is glaring at Toph. "I dare you to get Sokka to smile."

Katara giggles, and Teo and Aang's heads swivel to face Sokka whose facial expression quickly changes from surprised to annoyed.

"Easy." Toph says, reaching into Sokka's bag and pulling out a stick of dried meat. She flings the jerky at him and it hits the side of his head, bouncing off and landing too close to Aang, who jumps up and sends a gust of air toward Toph. The wind catches her off guard and pushes her backward, straight into The Duke whose helmet gets knocked off on impact.

"Not gonna be that easy." Sokka states, ripping a piece of jerky off with his teeth while Toph picks herself back up.

The small girl turns her back on her audience and lets down her long black hair. The Duke lets out a small gasp at this, and Katara gives him a quizzical look. Toph grabs a strand of hair and fixes it across her upper lip and turns back to the fire, giving Sokka her best Haru impression.

This gets a good laugh out of Aang, and a fantastic blush from Haru. Sokka's face remains impassive.

"Okay, okay," The Duke says, laughing. "Let's just come back to that one later. Your turn to ask anyone truth or dare, Toph."

"Katara, truth or dare?"

The older girl hesitates a moment before saying "Truth."

This is met by groans and protests of "Oh, c'mon." and "Don't be a wimp."

Toph takes one look at where Katara is seated between Haru and Aang and says "Okay, then. Did you ever have a crush on Haru?"

"What!" Katara and Aang exclaim at the same time, leaving both of them blushing.

"I-" Katara starts. "Well..."

"Remember, I can tell if you're lying."

"Of course she did!" Haru says confidently. "She risked her own life to save mine."

"Out of guilt." Aang adds quietly.

"Actually, I've always just liked Haru as a good friend." Katara says. Toph nods.

"Oh." Haru stammers, "Yeah, me too. That's how I've always felt, too."

"Uh, liar." Toph coughs into her hand, and Sokka almost laughs but catches himself.

"My turn!" Katara sings, and casts her eyes around the campfire dramatically. Teo pretends to shiver under her gaze until she calls out "Teo, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Teo says, breaking into a grin.

"I dare you to..." she trails off, looking at their surroundings. "to go into the haunted part of the temple!"

"There's a haunted part of the temple?" Sokka asks, eyes growing wide.

"Of course." Katara says, nudging Aang in the ribs. "Aang told me about it. Right Aang?"

"R-right." he says, sitting up a little straighter and bringing his hands up near his face in a claw shape. "Long ago there was a traveler who was walking along this very cliff. He was all alone." Aang says, standing up and walking to the other side of the fire. "All of a sudden, he heard something!" Aang puts a finger to his lips and leans toward an imaginary sound. He turns back to his friends and quickly gestures for them to follow him.

They make Teo go first because it is his dare, and he is followed by Toph, The Duke, Haru, Katara, and Sokka. Aang continues his story from the front of the line.

"So he began to follow the noise to the edge of the cliff," Aang narrates, leading the group into one of the buildings. Aang picks up his pace, and soon Teo loses the Airbender's image in the darkness.

"Does anyone see Aang?" Teo rasps, looking wildly around in the dark.

"Aang?" Katara calls, sounding worried.

"I can't see anything." Haru says, reaching his arms out in front of him and banging his shin on something. He makes a muffled noise of pain and Katara calls for Aang again.

"So..." Sokka begins, sounding nervous, "did anyone hear how that story ended?"

"You don't really believe in ghosts, do you Sokka?" Teo asks through the darkness.

"My best friend is the Avatar." Sokka responds dryly.

"The last thing Aang said was that the guy walked toward the edge of the cliff and-"

"Shh!" Sokka says, hushing The Duke. "Do you hear that?"

With their eyes beginning to adjust the friends search their surroundings for the cause of the whistling.

"Must just be the wind." Haru offers, and Katara shrinks closer to Sokka.

The Duke feels a quick tug on his arm and hears Toph whisper "Watch out." before a huge gust of air slaps against the kids and Aang appears at the rear of the group screaming "SOMEONE PUSHED HIM OFF!"

Katara shrieks and jumps in place and Sokka's knees buckle. The rest of the group spins around to face the young Avatar, smiling triumphantly while Toph laughs.

"Thanks for the warning." The Duke says to Toph on the way back to the campfire. Toph just nods and smiles, and ignores Sokka's whine of "No fair! You could see Aang and warned _that_ kid?"

Once they are all comfortably seated around the fire, Teo says "Truth or dare, Aang?"

"Dare!" Aang says, early waiting for his task.

Teo takes his time deciding on a dare, saying that it had to be good after the scare Aang gave them all back at the temple.

No one is really sure exactly who said it, but at some point between Aang responding and Teo deciding a sad whisper floats out into the open:

"I dare you to save the world."

The camp goes quiet, and Aang's smile falls off his face. He draws his knees up to his chest, and Katara reaches for his hand.

After a moment Aang drops her hand and rushes away from the fire. Katara stands quickly to watch him go, and then glances at her brother.

"Go on." Sokka says, and Katara vanishes after Aang.

The silence stretches on until Sokka says "Hey, The Duke. Truth or dare?"

"Dare." The Duke says quietly.

"Kiss Toph."

Haru looks up, and Teo's eyes snap open.

"I, uh" The Duke says nervously.

"Well don't be a wimp." Toph says, keeping her face brave.

The four boys look at her in alarm. The Duke scoots toward her and leans in. Toph stays still, aware that the others are watching her.

Their foreheads knock before their lips can touch and Toph's hair tangles into The Duke's helmet. She jerks to the side from the tug on her hair and their noses bump. The Duke's hands fly up to hold the bridge of his nose and he manages a "Watch it!" to which Toph replies with "I can't, I'm _blind_!"

Sokka bursts into laughter, and Toph jumps up triumphantly, taking the helmet with her, shouting "You laughed! I win! I win!"

And Sokka smiles.

**_Note: _**_So this is a request I got from skaterchick36 for some TophXThe Duke lovin. I know it's subtle, but I've never written it before and I was having a hard time keeping everyone in character. There's probably more Kataang in here than there is TophXThe Duke, but I really can't help the Kataang. It's like a disease. _

_So. There is not plot. But I like it that way. Just a bunch of kids being kids despite everything. _

_I haven't seen The Western Air Temple in a while, and I hope I got all the characters that were supposed to be there. And sorry, Zuko, for not putting you in here, but, well... I don't really like you._

_Oh, and a shout-out to all my anonymous reviewers I've been getting: Thank you so much! Please keep reviewing, it makes my day every time. And it's easy! So go on, make someone's life a little happier._

_(I miss sentence drabbles.)_


	84. Main Characters: Hope

Mai wonders when Zuko will stop looking at her like just another thing to lose.

-x-

I think about you all the time.

So often.

Too often.

I imagine your touch (warm, soft, hesitant).

I imagine your smell (a rainstorm in the summer).

I look at myself the way you used to look at me.

At night I close my eyes and tell myself you're there.

When I'm sad I pretend you're around to hold me.

I think about you when I think about love, and friendship, and a slow heartbreak.

I think about the perfect feeling of holding the thing you love most in your arms, away from the pain of the world, close to you, where you can keep her safe.

I wonder if you think about me all the time. How it would make you feel to know exactly what I think.

I'm trying not to love you, Kana, but I still do.

So much.

Too much.

-x-

Katara looks at the young Avatar training and for once doesn't look away; she knows that when you love someone so much it feels right when you know it's wrong.

-x-

Bumi points toward the mail delivery system and smiles devilishly. Aang can hear the Queen of Omashu calling them ("Kids, wash up for dinner!") but chooses not to listen.

Clean hands forgotten, duty forgotten, arrows forgotten, he climbs into the cart after his friend and pushes off, screaming from joy the whole way down.

Because if they call him a child here, then that's what he'll be.

-x-

Sokka sits with his son in his lap and thinks of the best way to explain to him why his hair is white; he finally settles on 'First love is beautiful, first love is painful, and in the beginning you never expect the end."

-x-

"I'm so afraid."

He meets her eyes, and she tells him "I've already lost you once. I don't want to lose you again."

-x-

The first few nights Katara stays with Aang in his room she avoids Sokka's gaze and keeps her eyes on the ground at night, but not for the reason everyone assumes. Her brother and the moon just remind her that things are so perfect, but even prefect things can't last.

-x-

The two children sit near the edge of the cliff, legs dangling over.

Katara looks at Aang's worried face and gives a small smile, reaching out to rub his arm. "I'll be your best friend forever." she tells him, and Aang knows she understands his fear of dying during the final battle and moving on to another life. And suddenly he realizes that all of his lives have had a Katara, have had this moment when they know they are never going to be alone again.

Aang understood. _"I'll be your best friend forever."_ (even though a week is all we have.)

-x-

Sometimes Aang forgets the state of the time he now lives in. After waterbending practice one day he shoots Katara a grin and exclaims "Wow Katara, you were on fire today!" and watches as her smile drops.

-x-

Oma curls her knees up to her chest. "My darling, my love," she says, "We cannot let them out of the cave."

Shu reaches to smooth out her hair and tells her "We must."

Oma's sad stare returns to the Avatar and his companion. "But look at the way they argue; surely if their love was pure they would understand."

"My Oma, my beautiful," Shu says, taking his love into his arms, "You must remember that a boy and a girl are not a man and a woman," and he pauses to smile at the memories that cross her face. "Not always."

-x-

Sokka travels around the world healing destruction and nursing his broken heart, and every once in a while he will admit that he is glad that Yue was the one to die instead of him. She will never have to know such things.

-x-

Katara died with the knowledge that she never told someone she loved them if she didn't mean it. She had asked so much of the world in her time, but found that this was the only thing she could really ask of herself.

-x-

"I'm broken." he confesses to her late one night after he has given her up. "I can only hope that I'll come out of this smarter and stronger, but still so wildly wounded."

Katara stares at Aang's face and doesn't recognize it. "Things will get worse before they can get better." she tells him, and her arms stay empty for many nights to come.

-x-

"It's risky." his sister warns, but Sokka waves off her doubt with a flash of his hand.

"No no no, this plan will work."

"How can you be so sure?" Toph asks, and Sokka gives a confident look to his friends.

"Because after all we've been through, it's about time things start going right."

-x-

Sokka never knew what to say when people asked what his relationship to Lady Bei Fong was; they could never quite call each other just friends.

-x-

One day Meng was being particularly pouty about her fortune telling training. Aunt Wu told her to look at the tree outside of the window; there was a bird's nest in it. The old woman took a sip of tea, studied the leaves at the bottom of her cup and predicted that within the next week the baby bird living in it would take it's first flight.

All day long Meng would stare out the window, watching the bird teeter on the edge of the twigs, scared, indecisive, clumsy. Toward the end of the week Aunt Wu took her by the hand and guided her to a spot in the grass under the tree. Lying there was a small bird with a broken neck.

"You are a true fortune teller when you realize that it isn't magic, it's hope." she explained to a girl whose broken dreams lay nestled in the grass at her feet.

-x-

"You can't knock me down!"

And Pakku's breath left him for a moment as a memory flashed through his mind of a girl who looked so much like this one; just like in her in fact and_- could it be?_ No, no impossible.

Kana was dead.

-x-

His little sister grieved for the world; Sokka spent half his life trying to teach her that on this earth the end of one person's life can be nothing but a happening in the day of another's.

-x-

Aang stood in the crumpled remains of his bedroom and asked the world cruelly "Who said only a lover can break your heart?"

-x-

On the subject of Zuko, Mai is confused.

On the subject of the present, she doesn't know what they are.

On the subject of the future, maybe they'll be something (she can hope) or maybe not.

But Mai likes the subject of the past because they were in love and that will never change; she'll have that forever and ever.

-x-

Aang asks Katara about her feelings for him, and her head spins. Her heart is all tangled up, in all these places at once.

Little by little she'll unweave the strands and figure it out until there's no more guesswork and her feelings are there in front of her plain as day, blissfully the truth.

Things will be better then.

Until then she tries to forget guilt and enjoy things as they are, when she doesn't belong to any one person.

-x-

The Guru tells him he'll have to give up Katara to defeat the Fire Lord, and Aang drops his head into his hands. He knows that there's nothing fair about love and war.

-x-

"Aang, please be careful." Katara warns as he goofs off with firebending one day, and for the first time he can feel a weight on his shoulders heavier than that of the world's safety; the burden of holding another person's happiness in his hands.

-x-

Katara cannot fight a war on her own.

She cannot heal the world by herself.

She cannot give anyone anything with her bending alone.

But every time she touches the water she's given herself something, for a few small moments; some peace.

-x-

They won the battle. Aang beat back the Fire Navy, and the moon hung in the sky once again. This was all he thought he wanted.

And every night a question beats in Sokka, right along with his heart: _We gained the world and lost each other. Was it worth it?_

-x-

Katara does her best to take care of their little group. She makes Toph wash her hands before she eats, and she sews up the tears in Sokka's clothes, and she holds Aang after every nightmare until he's sound alseep again. She'll rub their backs when they're sick and hug every one of them tightly when something goes wrong, whispering that things will be okay, hoping they will take some comfort in knowing she's there.

And then there are nights when Katara has learned to be her own mother, and she brushes her own hair and rubs her own arm and whispers to herself "Shh, it's okay, you're okay." when really, no one is there at all.

-x-

It's strange, Aang thinks, the way that a war can bring people together and peace can rip them apart.

But they were only kids then. They grew up. Grew apart.

He still sees his old friends at the occasional meeting or party. They say hello, catch up, even swap a few old stories now and then.

It's polite. It's nice. And the hardest part for Aang is standing there with them and remembering a time when things were absolutely, heart-stoppingly perfect, and they thought it had to be fixed.

-x-

Seashells.

Seashells and the sight of his face.

The ocean. The waves, and the coolness of his hands.

A salty breeze, his eyes.

Summer and his smile. Tangles of seaweed around her ankles, and his grip around her shoulders. Needy and sure.

Minnows dart. Marsh weeds, sandy mud, his laugh. His youth.

A shell. The curve of his cheek.

A stretch of beach. The stretch of his arm and fingers. The youngness of his face. Bright, the sun.

Driftwood; his eyes. Sturdy and keeping her afloat.

A gull's wing and the length of his lashes. The smooth dip in the water, the dip where his neck becomes shoulder.

A seashell. Her best friend, her summer, her happiness.

Aang, her truest love, an ocean, and Katara, so seasick.

-x-

After her mother's death, Katara didn't feel anything.

People went on with their lives while she sat in the snow, a cold breeze slapping against her; and when was the last time she actually _felt_ it?

Sometimes she'd cry. She'd see everything all over again, and her heart would break. Just snap, blood swirling in her chest in all the wrong directions. Pitiful sobbing, tears flooding her head, and there's wasn't a damn beautiful thing about it. Not a thing.

She was lost. She was motherless and lost and instead of a breeze all she felt was the harsh slap of the truth.

And now she is found. She is fighting in a war, and though it is hard she is not alone.

She's happy. If you ask her if she is happy she wouldn't be sure, but she is.

And she imagines that breeze, if she ever chooses to feel it, is full of hope like the first breath of the day and full of relief like the last.

-x-

That night at the play Aang asks her why they aren't together; Katara resolves to wait until the day when telling him she loves him will fix more problems than it would cause.

-x-

Before they leave for the Day of Black Sun Toph gets Sokka to help her spell out their names in a rock, because this could be their last day alive and some one somewhere should know that.

-x-

"I don't know what's right anymore, Uncle." Zuko rasps at the man behind the bars, and a truer lie was never spoken.

-x-

Katara remembers how, as a young child, she would lay in her furs and wonder if she would be happy when she grew up.

And as she lies dying, she recalls her time with Aang saving the world and thinks, maybe perhaps, she was.

But she knows that hindsight makes everything smoother and more lovely, more desirable.

She also knows that her heart never stays in her chest and instead clings to those days, to Aang, against all logic, and that her mind can barely stay in her head anyway.

And she thinks, maybe perhaps, that's what happiness is.

-x-

Korra is learning to airbend when she meets a boy with blue eyes and faintly remembers something: that love doesn't change; people do.

-x-

Sokka's fought for a lot of things, but the world and his first love are the biggest.

The difference with the world is that he won.

-x-

_**Note:** If you made it this far, wow, I'm impressed. So you know how artists doodle? This is basically my 'doodling'. I cannot commit myself to a story._

_Sorry for the lack of plot, boringness, and bad grammar. I don't really care._

_Did you like any of them? Click that button and tell me which was your favorite; I promise it'll make my day and then you'll feel so good about it! :)_


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